The creative industry is a phenomenon that which active exploration at the end of the 20th century. Driven by the processes of globalization and digitalization, in its dynamic development, the creative industry has shown that it represents a field based on knowledge and innovation, project character, protected by copyright. The theoretical part of this paper presents the historical development of the creative industry, an overview of the models of the creative industry according to M.G. Johnson and DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sports) and the organization of the creative industry on the examples of Great Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Croatia. In the research section of the paper, a meta-analysis shows the most important works of the creative industry in the Republic of Croatia. The metaanalysis describes the authors' studies aimed at researching the creative industry with an emphasis on the impact of the creative industry on society and the economy. The second part of the research section of the paper includes the analysis of secondary data for member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom. With the analysis of secondary data, the impact of the creative industry was studied in the relation to the employment rate, gross value added compared to other activities and gross value added of the creative industry sectors. In addition to the indicators listed above, the process of development of creative cities and their role in the future was reviewed as well. This paper aims to explore the definitions and nomenclatures of the creative industry, to determine its potentials and value in the economic activities of modern cities and overall communities.