A color image forming apparatus includes image forming units, an intermediate transfer body, and cleaning units. The image forming units form toner images of different colors. Each image forming units includes a developing unit supplying toner of each color. The toner images of the respective colors formed by the image forming units are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer body in a superposed manner. A toner image having been transferred onto the intermediate transfer body is secondarily transferred onto a recording medium. The cleaning units remove a residual toner on the intermediate transfer body. The cleaning units include first and second cleaning units. The first cleaning unit removes from the intermediate transfer body the largest amount of foreign matters, among all the cleaning units. A residual toner removed by at least the second cleaning unit is returned to one of developing units that supplies a black toner.