When positioning operation control is carried out from a machining end point to the next machining start point in laser beam machining using gap control of a nozzle, if positioning extends over a plurality of consecutive blocks, instead of allowing a gap control axis to automatically retreat or return by positioning of each block, the movement of the nozzle is controlled such that the gap control axis is allowed to automatically retreat by positioning of the first block and allowed to automatically return by positioning of the last block.