[en] In the case of metallic ferromagnets there has always been a controversy, i.e. whether the magnetic interaction is itinerant or localized. For example SrRuO_3 is known to be an itinerant ferromagnet where the spin–spin interaction is expected to be mean field in nature. However, it is reported to behave like Ising, Heisenberg or mean field by different groups. Despite several theoretical and experimental studies and the importance of strongly correlated systems, the experimental conclusion regarding the type of spin–spin interaction in SrRuO_3 is lacking. To resolve this issue, we have investigated the critical behaviour in the vicinity of the paramagnetic–ferromagnetic phase transition using various techniques on polycrystalline as well as (001) oriented SrRuO_3 films. Our analysis reveals that the application of a scaling law in the field-cooled magnetization data extracts the value of the critical exponent only when it is measured at H → 0. To substantiate the actual nature without any ambiguity, the critical behavior is studied across the phase transition using the modified Arrott plot, Kouvel–Fisher plot and M–H isotherms. The critical analysis yields self-consistent β, γ and δ values and the spin interaction follows the long-range mean field model. Further the directional dependence of the critical exponent is studied in thin films and it reveals the isotropic nature. It is elucidated that the different experimental protocols followed by different groups are the reason for the ambiguity in determining the critical exponents in SrRuO_3_. (paper)