An image reading apparatus comprises an automatic document feeding section automatically feeding a document to a specific automatic document reading position; an automatically fed document detection section detecting whether or not there is a document in the automatic document feeding section; a fixed document detection section detecting whether or not there is a fixed document placed on an original table glass; a drive section driving the carriage in the vertical scanning section; and a carriage movement control section moving the carriage in advance from the initial standby position of the carriage to a movement starting end position across the initial standby position facing an automatically fed document reading position where an automatically fed document is read or a fixed document reading starting position where the reading of a fixed document is started if the automatically fed document detection section or the fixed document detection section detects a document.