In this paper we give an overview of the development of usability activities in the Czech Republic. We start with the historical background - in terms of general context in which usability issues were born in this country - and then we describe specific usability issues that are typical for the usability community in this country. Special attention is paid to mutual links between research at universities and industrial activities in various companies active in the Czech Republic. There exists a mutual cross-fertilization between these two activities that results in a fruitful cooperation between both sectors. This fact is demonstrated in this paper by several projects that ran in last a few years. Last but not the least the importance of cooperation between research and education at universities has been stressed. In such a way students come in touch with up-to-date research problems and get an opportunity to participate in the leading-edge research in this country.