A survey of works on IR spectroscopy of surface phenomena made in the Institute of Physics of St. Petersburg State University in the group of Dr. Sci. (Phys.-Math.) V.N. Filimonov (1929-1983) is presented and the results of further development of these studies are reviewed. In these works, IR spectroscopy was used for studying the structure of surface compounds and adsorption layers, active centers, adsorption mechanisms, intermolecular interactions, and photochemical processes on the surface of solids. The experimental data were always compared with the results of theoretical studies, including quantum-mechanical calculations, normalcoordinate analysis, and, later on, computer modeling.