Abstract Block fabrication is the process that has the greatest impact on shipbuilding efficiency, so block spatial scheduling is widely studied as the key to improving shipbuilding efficiency. The shipbuilding spatial scheduling problem addresses the coupling characteristics of time and space. It is difficult to balance these two aspects. Based on the characteristics of spatial scheduling problems in shipbuilding enterprises, a three‐dimensional space that uses time as the third dimension is imported, and a cellular automata model along with some evolutionary rules is built, which includes shape optimization rules, cluster or edge rule‐based layout rules, and First Come First Service dispatching rules. The objectives are to achieve the minimum total completion time, the largest utilization of space and machine, and the least number of delay blocks. Taking the real data in a block workshop of a shipbuilding enterprise as an example, the feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm are verified by comparing the statistical analysis with other algorithms.