Addressing local residents, Tadic said that "Kosovo is part of Serbia and Montenegro not only under our law, but under international law".
He said the purpose of his visit was to draw the attention of the international community to the conditions in which Kosovo Serbs were living.
"I did not come with a magic wand, I wish I had, but I can say that I will do my best to protect the rights of our people and every Serbian citizen living in Kosovo and Metohija," Tadic said.
Later in the afternoon, the Serbian president will meet UN Civil Administrator Soren Jessen-Petersen and visit other Serb enclaves. The visit is being covered by several dozen reporters.
Organisations established by members of the former Kosovo Liberation Army have described Tadic's visit as an act of provocation.
A commentary in the Pristina-based Albanian-language Koha Ditore daily said that the purpose of Tadic's visit was to confirm Serbia's sovereignty in Kosovo.
Tadic is the first Serbian president to visit Kosovo since the United Nations took over the governing of Kosovo in 1999.