The great majority of experiments in particle physics use beams of particles from accelerators. Individual interactions of these with other particles are observed by detector systems. Fixed target and colliding beam experiments are contrasted, and non-accelerator experiments mentioned briefly. An account is given of the principles of the various detectors. These include scintillation and Cerenkov counters and the various tracking devices such as bubble chambers, proportional and drift chambers. Calorimeters have emerged recently as important detectors at the highest energies. Electronic logic modules are mentioned and the main steps in data acquisition and analysis are described. Finally an example is given of a large detector system.