An optical position measuring instrument including a scale and a scanning unit, wherein the scanning unit and the scale are movable with respect to one another. The scanning unit includes a detector unit, and a reflector unit that has a first and second wave front correctors and a beam direction inverter. The reflector unit is disposed so that beams first pass through the scale and the first wave front corrector, then a back-reflection of partial beams is effected in a direction of the scale, and the partial beams then pass through the scale and the second wave front corrector before the partial beams then arrive at the detector unit, wherein it is ensured that wave front deformations of the partial beams are converted into wave front deformations that compensate for resultant wave front deformations of the partial beams upon a second diffraction at the scale.