The substrate holding device of the present invention includes a holding unit that adsorbs and holds the substrate, a measuring section that measures a physical quantity relating to a adsorption force of the holding unit with the substrate mounted on the holding unit; and a control section that carries out a first determination based on a first condition and a measurement result obtained by the measuring section and a second determination based on a second condition that is different from the first condition and a measurement result obtained by the measuring section to select one of at least three preset operations based on the result of first and second determinations to thereby execute processing depending on the selected operation.