Cela attended the University of Madrid before and after the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), during which he served with Franco's army. His first novel, Pascual Duarte, established his European reputation. Traditional in form, it was both a popular and a critical success. His second novel, La colmena (1951; The Hive), with its fragmented chronology and large cast of characters, is an innovative and perceptive story of postwar Madrid. It solidified Cela's critical and popular reputation. Another of his better-known avant-garde novels, San Camilo, 1936 (1969), is one continuous stream of consciousness. His later novels include Cristo versus Arizona (1988; “Christ Versus Arizona”) and the Galician trilogy—Mazurca para dos muertos (1983; Mazurka for Two Dead People), La cruz de San Andrés (1994; “St. Andrew's Cross”), and Madera de boj (1999; Boxwood).

Cela's acute powers of observation and skill in colourful description also are apparent in his travel books, based on his trips through rural Spain and his visits to Latin American countries. The most noted of these are Viaje a la Alcarría (1948; Journey to the Alcarría), Del Miño al Bidasoa (1952; “From the Miño to the Bidasoa”), and Judíos, moros y cristianos (1956; “Jews, Moors, and Christians”). He retraced the itinerary of his first travel book for Nuevo viaje a la Alcarría (1986). Among his numerous short narratives are Esas nubes que pasan (1945; “The Passing Clouds”) and the four works included in the collection El molino de viento, y otras novelas cortas (1956; “The Windmill and Other Short Fiction”). Cela also wrote essays, poetry, and memoirs and in his later years made frequent television appearances.

In 1955 Cela settled in Majorca, where he founded a well-respected literary review, Papeles de Son Armadans (1956–79), and published books in fine editions. He began in 1968 to publish his multivolume Diccionario secreto, a compilation of “unprintable” but well-known words and phrases. He became a member of the Spanish Academy in 1957.