To provide a belt conveyor capable of dispensing with high precision machining for centering work to a drive pulley, stably running an endless belt, reducing operation cost by forming the drive pulley light, and facilitating replacement work for the drive pulley.

The endless belt is wound at least around a pair of pulleys disposed apart from each other, and the pulleys are driven to rotate by a drive unit for rotating the endless belt in this belt conveyor. The pulley is provided with a cylindrical part formed cylindrical at least partly in the direction of an axial line, and a holding mechanism is disposed inside the cylindrical part, so that it is held to be rotatable around the axial line. The drive unit is provided with a drive roller to be applied to a circumferential surface of the pulley to drive the pulley to rotate.