In an exposure apparatus, an exposure object is exposed to light by applying pulsed light that has a wavelength of 300 nm or less and that has been passed through a plurality of optical components. At least one of the plurality of optical components is made of a synthetic silica glass component. The thickness of the synthetic silica glass component, and the energy density per pulse and the pulse width of the pulsed light satisfy the following expression: τI−2L−1.7≧0.02 (ns·mJ−2·cm2.3·pulse2) wherein L is the thickness (unit: cm) of the synthetic silica glass component, I is the energy density (unit: mJ·cm−2·pulse−1) per pulse, and τ is the pulse width (unit: ns).