An exposure apparatus exposes a substrate by projecting an image of a predetermined pattern through a liquid onto the substrate. The exposure apparatus includes a projection optical system which projects the image of the pattern onto the substrate, a liquid supply mechanism which supplies the liquid onto the substrate to form a liquid immersion area on a part of the substrate including a projection area of the projection optical system, and a liquid recovery mechanism which recovers the liquid on the substrate simultaneously at a plurality of positions. The liquid recovery mechanism recovers the liquid with a recovery force which differs depending on the position for recovering the liquid.