Historically associated with airborne units and divisions, paracord is not used as cordage for modern "square" parachutes. However, it continues to be used by many military units in almost any situation where light cordage is needed. Typical uses include attaching equipment to harnesses, as dummy cords to avoid losing small or important items, tying rucksacks to vehicle racks, securing camouflage nets to trees or vehicles, and so forth. When threaded with beads, paracord may be used as a pace counter to estimate ground covered by foot. 

The yarns of the core (commonly referred to as "the guts") can also be removed when finer string is needed, for instance as sewing thread to repair gear, or to be used as fishing line in a survival situation. For applications requiring a thinner or less elastic cord, such as shoelaces, users often remove the yarn in the core and use the nylon sheath alone. The ends of the cord can be melted and/or crimped to prevent fraying.