In a focus servo apparatus for moving an objective lens in an optical disk drive from a distant position toward the surface of the disk and maintaining the lens in the correct focus position by means of a servo loop having a lead-in detection circuit for generating an acquisition signal when the objective lens is within the controllable range and a servo loop switch for closing the servo loop in response to the acquisition signal, a lead-in circuit generates a drive signal to move the objective lens into this range before the servo loop is closed. The drive signal rises to an initial peak, then falls back to a lower level. A bias signal is added to the drive signal when the optical disk drive is horizontally mounted. This apparatus overcomes problems caused by friction and the weight of the objective lens.
