A substrate cleaning apparatus includes two cleaning brushes driven independently of each other. A first cleaning brush makes a cycling movement including an outward movement progressing in a horizontal direction from a position in contact with the center of the rotation of a substrate to the outside of an edge of the substrate, an upward movement progressing in a vertically upward direction from an end position of the outward movement, an inward movement progressing in a horizontal direction from an end position of the upward movement to a position immediately over the center of the rotation of the substrate, and a downward movement progressing in a vertically downward direction from an end position of the inward movement to a start position of the outward movement. A second cleaning brush makes a similar cycling movement. The first and second cleaning brushes are adapted so that the speed of the inward movement thereof is higher than that of the outward movement thereof and so that the speed of the upward movement is higher than that of the downward movement thereof.