The paper gives a brief overview of typical IAEA activities which contribute to the production of isotopes in nuclear reactors and accelerators, as well as their use. The areas touched upon include (1) isotope production in research reactors and accelerators, (2) quality control and quality assurance in radioanalytical measurements, (3) neutron activation analysis, (4) nuclear methods for land mine detection, (5) radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine, (6) isotope techniques of water resource management and (7) soil management and crop nutrition.