An image recording apparatus records an image on a recording medium by causing a recording head having an arrangement of a plurality of recording elements to conduct its main scanning for the recording medium interrelatedly in the direction opposite to the arrangement of the recording elements. The apparatus comprises a setting device to set the number of main scannings by the recording head; a main scanning device to perform recording by plural numbers of main scannings with respect to one pixel by causing the recording head to conduct its main scannings for the same recording area of the recording medium in accordance with the number set by the setting device; and a sub-scanning device to cause the recording head and the recording medium to be sub-scanned interrelatedly per main scanning in an amount smaller than the width of the arrangement of the recording elements of the recording head. Hence, even if a disabled ejection occurs in one scanning at the time of recording by a multi-scanning, the missing dot is complemented by the following scan to make it possible to obtain an image having no image defects at all times.