To provide a driving control device can avert the step-out of stepping motor during spherical aberration correction at a low cost with a small size, a drive control method, and to provide an optical pickup system.

A control section 22 drives a collimator lens 12 from an origin position with driving pulses of a prescribed pulse rate T1, by as much as a prescribed number A of clocks thereby moving the collimator lens 12. The control section returns the collimator lens 12 to the origin position with the pulse rate T2 higher than the pulse rate T1, and counts the number B of clocks of the driving pulses required for returning. The control section 22 repeats counting, by increasing the pulse rate T2 by one step each until the number A of clocks becomes equal to the number B of clocks. The control section 22 makes the determination that there is the step-out when the number A is not equal to number B, and determines the pulse rate T2 lowered by one step from the pulse rate T2 determined as having the existence of the step-out, as the pulse rate of the spherical aberration correction operation.