PURPOSE: To make it possible to put a substrate for exposure on a loading substrate stage in a state of being parallel thereto even when a film is formed on the rear of the substrate so as to get around onto it, by setting the size of the loading stage and by providing a stage for fixing the edge of the substrate.

CONSTITUTION: In an apparatus wherein a substrate 1 having a resist film 2 formed thereon is subjected to reduced exposure in a state of being held fixedly, a loading substrate stage 3b for loading the substrate 1 and peripheral substrate stages 3a and 3c which hold the periphery of the substrate 1 on the loading substrate stage 3b and fix it are provided. The width W2 of the loading substrate stage 3b is set so as to meet the formula. Herein W1 denotes the minimum width of the substrate, W2 the width of the loading substrate stage and L the sum of the film thickness of the resist film formed on an edge part of the substrate and the length of the resist film getting around onto the rear of the substrate, from the edge thereof. According to this constitution, the parallelism of the substrate to the loading substrate stage is not lost even when the resist film or the like is formed on the rear of the substrate so as to get around onto it, and thus exposure can be executed in a stable state.