A component mounting apparatus has a stage 41 with a fixed height position for holding a substrate 5, and a mounting head 48 that releasably holds a component 2, is moved downward toward the stage 41 from a first reference height position HB1 fixedly positioned above the stage 41, and mounts the held component 2 on the substrate 5 or an already mounted component 2. A controller 14 has a mounting reference height calculation unit 103 for calculating a mounting reference height Hn corresponding to a distance from the first reference height position HB1, and a first target movement height calculation unit 104 for calculating a first target movement height ZTAGn based on at least the mounting reference height Hn and a thickness PTn of the component 2 held by the mounting head 48. The controller 14 moves the mounting head 48 holding the component 2 downward from the first reference height position HB1 to the first target movement height ZTAGn to mount the held component 2 on the substrate 5 or the already mounted component 2.