To provide a low power consumption motor drive which can decelerate rotation of a motor by an external force quickly, by braking the motor with an appropriate torque, and can hold the state where rotation of the motor is decelerated or stopped.

When a rotation instruction of a motor 3 is not accepted from a switch 4, and a rotational speed detected by a speed detection unit 14 is less than a predetermined value, a control unit 16 short-circuits between the terminals of the motor 3 by turning FET 31, 33, 35 on, respectively. When a rotation instruction of a motor 3 is not accepted from a switch 4, and a rotational speed detected by a speed detection unit 14 is or exceeds a predetermined value, the control unit 16 applies a pulse voltage, corresponding to an AC voltage generating a torque in the direction for impeding rotation of the motor 3, from the inverter 13 between the terminals of the motor 3.