In a laser beam scanner according to the invention, L2/L1>L4/L3 is satisfied, where L2/L1 is the lateral magnification in the sub-scanning direction in an optical path from a polygon mirror to a photosensitive drum, and L4/L3 is the lateral magnification in the sub-scanning direction in an optical path from the polygon mirror to a beam detector. Accordingly, the light-receiving width of the beam detector can be reduced as compared with a conventional laser beam scanner where L2/L1=L4/L3.