PURPOSE: To provide an automatic focusing device which stably focused on the object in any state without influencing photographic conditions.

CONSTITUTION: A prescribed frequency component to be used for shadow focus detection is extracted as a focus signal from among the image pickup signals from a CCD 3 by low pass filters 9 and 10. Meanwhile, a frame generating circuit 54 generates plural frames for focus detection use in one picture in response to the command from a microcomputer 55. Various focus degree evaluation values obtained by correcting the focus signal by a luminance component are generated in these frames by integrating circuits 32 to 37, peak holding circuits 19 to 21, 25 to 27, and 47 to 49, a line peak holding circuit 31, a line maximum value holding circuit 44, a line minimum value holding circuit 45, etc. The microcomputer 55 controls the focus by the mountaineering system based on these various focus evaluation values.