Provided is a distance measuring apparatus and a distance measuring method enabling measurement of, based on an image, a relative distance from an object even during nighttime. Included are imaging means for taking an image in a traveling direction of an own-vehicle as a taken image; specifying means for respectively specifying combinations of positions, in the taken image, of direct light which is imaged in the taken image and of a reflected light which is a reflection of the direct light on a travel path surface; and measuring means for measuring a relative distance from an object based on the combinations of the positions of the direct light and the positions of the reflected light, which are specified by the specifying means.