The paper describes the Neutral cluster and Air Ion Spectrometer (NAIS) – a multichannel aerosol instrument capable of measuring the distribution of ions (charged particles and cluster ions) of both polarities in the electric mobility range from 3.2 to 0.0013 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>−1</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> and the distribution of aerosol particles in the size range from 2.0 to 40 nm. We introduce the principles of design, data processing and spectrum deconvolution of the instrument.