These proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Difference Equations and Applications cover a number of different aspects of difference equations and discrete dynamical systems, as well as the interplay between difference equations and dynamical systems. The conference was organized by the Department of Mathematics at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) under the auspices of the International Society of Difference Equations (ISDE) and held in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) in July 2012. Its purpose was to bring together experts and novices in these fields to discuss the...