With a recognition device of the present invention, when a target component that is an imaging target is moved in a direction from one to another of an upper limit imaging position and a lower limit imaging position, a protruding section of the target component is imaged at each of a predetermined pitch (0.1 mm). Then, it is determined whether it is possible to recognize the position of the protruding section of the target component based on image data of each pitch (O: recognition possible, X: recognition not possible). Here, from among imaging positions (H4 to H10) according to image data for which it was determined to be possible to recognize the position of the protruding section of the target component, a position (H7) that is at a central point between a position closest to the upper limit imaging position (H4) and a position closest to the lower limit imaging position (H10) is decided as a recommended imaging position. By this, it is possible to image the protruding section close to a central point inside the emitting range of the light emitted from the light source, meaning that the protruding section is appropriately imaged and the position of the protruding section can be appropriately recognized.