An optical scanning apparatus includes a reflecting mechanism, a light receiving element and a restricting mechanism. The reflecting mechanism reflects a light beam such that the irradiation point of the light beam moves in a predetermined scanning direction. The light receiving element is arranged in a movement plane defined by the light beam reflected by the reflecting mechanism, and the light receiving element outputs a light reception signal for adjusting the irradiation timing of the light beam in accordance with reception of the light beam reflected by the reflecting mechanism. The restricting mechanism positions the light receiving element relative to the movement plane.