Discrete geometry plays an expanding role in the fields of shape modelling, image synthesis, and image analysis. It deals with topological and geometrical definitions of digitized objects or digitized images and provides both a theoretical and a computational framework for computer imaging. This special issue of DAM is dedicated to the 17th International Conference on Discrete Geometry for Computer Imagery (DGCI 2013) which will be held in Seville, Spain, on March 20-22, 2013.