Collisions of slow multicharged and highly charged ions, i.e., ions with kinetic energies up to some 10 keV, with atoms in the gas phase and with solids have been studied in detail over the last few years. A brief review is presented on some typical experiments and their results which make use of the specific features of highly charged ions in the fields of atomic spectroscopy, ion–atom collisions, and ion–solid interactions. In particular recent progress in the understanding of the interaction mechanisms of highly charged ions with solid surfaces will be discussed. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.