The results of comparative analysis of some nonlinear dispersive models of shallow water are presented. The aim is to find their individual properties relevant for the numerical solution of some model problems of long wave transformation over submerged obstacles The study considers basic properties of the listed models and their numerical implementation. Computations are obtained compared with the analytical solution and experimental data. Attention is primarily focused on the models suggested by Peregrine (1967); Zheleznyak and Pelinovsky (1985); Kim, Reid, Whitakcr (1988): Fedotova and Pashkova (1997). Also classical equations of shallow water are considered in both linear and nonlinear approximations.