A de-interlacing method and apparatus, and a video decoder and a reproducing apparatus using the de-interlacing method or apparatus are provided. The de-interlacing method includes the steps of: (a) determining an interpolation direction based on a plurality of left and right pixels in left and right pixel columns located at left and right sides of the to-be-interpolated pixel, respectively; and (b) obtaining an interpolated pixel value by performing an interpolation process in a determined interpolation direction. According to the de-interlacing method, it is possible to improve interpolation performance by easily and effectively detecting an edge located in a near-horizontal direction without increasing calculation amount.