A positioning apparatus includes an X stage, a linear motor (X-axis) which drives the X stage along the X-axis, a linear motor (Y-axis) which drives a Y stage along the Y-axis, a laser interferometer which detects position information of the stages along the X and Y directions, and a controller which controls the linear motor (X-axis) and linear motor (Y-axis) based on a detection result of the laser interferometer. The controller controls the linear motor (Y-axis) based on the position information of the stages along the X direction detected by the laser interferometer, so as to cancel a force generated along the Y-axis by the linear motor (X-axis) when the linear motor (X-axis) is to drive the stage in the X direction.