A barcode reader provided with a skewed reading circuit is provided wherein the image of a barcode symbol to be scanned by a scanner is divided into as multiplicity of pixels by dividing it in the scanning direction of the scanner and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction and the pixels or the binary data corresponding to the pixels along lines of a skewed reading direction which are relative to the scanning direction of the scanner by a specified angle of n (.THETA.) are read out by the skewed reading circuit where n is an integer greater than 1. This skewed reading circuit allows the angle allowable for scanning and readign when the barcode symbol is skewed relative to the scanning direction.