One of the most powerful tools for scientific research and engineering applications today is computer simulation. It provides an opportunity to reproduce the results of real experiments with a fairly high degree of reliability with significantly lower financial costs and the complete absence of dangerous precedents. Moreover, in some cases, there is no alternative to computer models. Instead, there is not a single phenomenon in nature that could not be reproduced in the form of an appropriate model. Among the huge variety of computer modeling methods, one can single out the direction associated with cellular automata (CA). We will consider examples of simulation diverse physicochemical processes from the perspective of CA, and then we will illustrate the capabilities of CA methods regarding modeling of socio-economic and environmental processes, bio-like structures, as well as examples of the use of CA in information technology.