An image forming apparatus includes an ejection head having a plurality of nozzle arrays arranged in an orthogonal direction to an array direction thereof, a carriage on which the ejection head is loaded, and a moving unit that moves the carriage. The image forming apparatus further includes a control unit that controls the moving unit and the ejection head such that, when flushing is to be performed while the image is formed on a sheet as the carriage reciprocates, a liquid is ejected to an image forming region of the sheet from the plurality of nozzle arrays, the liquid is ejected to a first receiving area from a first nozzle array group disposed adjacent to an outward side, and the liquid is ejected to a second receiving area from a remaining second nozzle array group excluding the first nozzle array group and disposed adjacent to a homeward side.