To enhance the productivity and to reduce the cost by facilitating the assembling and the disassembling.

The image pickup unit consists of a solid-state image pickup element 2 that converts a photographed light into an electric signal, a support board 3 on which the solid-state image pickup element is mounted, a cover 4 that covers the solid-state image pickup element 2 and has an opening at its ceiling plate, a lens 5 that forms a photographing light to a light receiving face of the solid-state image pickup element 2, and an elastic support means 6 that integrally fixes the support base 3 and the cover 4 while providing an elastic force to them in an optical axis direction. The elastic support means 6 is made of an elastic plate that is bent in a channel shape to elastically clamp the support base 3 and the cover 4. A tilt groove 26 guiding an arm is provided to the ceiling plate of the cover 4 when the elastic support means 6 is mounted.