Particles with fractional statistics interpolating between§bosons and fermions have attracted considerable interest§from mathematical physicists. In recent years it has emerged§that these so-called anyons have rather unexpected§applications, such as the fractional Hall effect, anyonic§excitations in films of liquid helium, and high-temrperature§superconductivity. Furthermore, they are discussed also in§the context of conformal field theories.§This book is a systematic and pedagogical introduction that§considers the subject of anyons from many different points§of view. In particular, the author presents the relation of§anyons to braid groups and Chern-Simons field theory and§devotes three chapters to physical applications. The book,§while being of interest to researchers, primarily addresses§advanced students of mathematics and physics.