The steady-state research reactor IR-8 is located in Moscow. It started its operation in 1957 and was one of the first research reactors of the water-water type in the territory of the former Soviet Union. Initially it had thermal power of the order of 1 MW and, after modifications, the nominal power has been increased to 8 MW with the neutron flux in the reactor core of 2.1Ol4 ncm-2sec. The IR-8 reactor is used for the experimental investigations in nuclear physics and in solid state physics in traditional directions for the Russian Research Centre Kurchatov Institute (formerly the I.V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy). Research is performed on 12 horizontal beams: ten straight channels, one tangential, and one curved channel, all coming from the lightwater moderator. A general view of the experimental hall of the IR-8 reactor is shown in Figure 1. While the main part of this report deals with the solid state physics instruments and research, we will first briefly describe the nuclear physics activity at the reactor.