To reduce the shock occurring when a coating head is stopped at a prescribed position and to improve working rate of a coating apparatus for applying a coating liquid on a sheet like material in a lamina flow condition and provided with a coating head freely movable back and forth.

When the coating head 310 retracted to a distant position advances to a coating position, a control part 330 for controlling a back and forth movement mechanism 32 to advance the coating head 310 from a prescribed waiting position in the mid-way of the advancement to the coating position at a 2nd average speed lower than a 1st average speed from distant position to the waiting position.