A zoom optical system comprising, in order from an object side: a first lens group (G1) having positive refractive power; a front-side lens group; an intermediate lens group having positive refractive power; and a rear-side lens group. The front-side lens group is composed of one or more lens groups and has a negative lens group. At least part of the intermediate lens group is a focusing lens group. The rear-side lens group is composed of one or more lens groups. Upon zooming, the first lens group and the intermediate lens group are moved with respect to an image surface, a distance between the first lens group and the front-side lens group is changed, and a distance between the intermediate lens group and the rear-side lens group is changed. The following conditional expression is satisfied: 0.000