A distance measuring apparatus is provided which utilizes a light-section method capable of measuring both close objects and far away objects without adjusting the dynamic range of an imaging camera. The apparatus comprises: an image acquisition section (11, 12, 13, 15) for imaging reflected light which has been emitted from the apparatus, has passed through a slit, and has then been reflected off the surface of a target object; an emission control section (14) for controlling the emission time (tow, tew) of the slit light during the time (to, te) an image is being scanned by the image acquisition section, and for changing the intensity of the received light in the image acquisition section; and a distance calculation section (16) for calculating the distance to the object based on the image taken by the image acquisition section and a positional relationship between a light emission position of the slit light and an image position.