This articleintroduces the new notion of complex networks, especially therepresentative models of random-graph networks, small-worldnetworks and scale-free networks as well as related basic conceptsand modeling parameters. It also briefly summarizes theirapplications to biological systems and neural networks, epidemicspreading and immunization over networks, transportation systems,social and economic networks, wireless communication and sensornetworks. And finally it reviews the problems of distributedcontrol, stability and consensus analysis in their applications toswarming, flocking and synchronization.