A parts mounting apparatus has a plurality of suction nozzles for picking up and holding the parts, the nozzles intermittently moving along a closed path to stop positions arranged at predetermined set intervals along the path, including a parts pickup position at which parts are picked up by the suction nozzles and a parts mounting position at which parts are mounted on an article on which parts are to be mounted. A position adjusting device is provided between the parts pickup positions and the parts mounting position for adjusting the position of a part held on a suction nozzle to orient the part relative to the longitudinal axis of the suction nozzle in two directions at right angles to each other and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle. A parts posture detecting device is provided at a stop position downstream of the position adjusting device and which has a line sensor for detecting whether the posture of the parts relative to the suction nozzle axis is proper by sensing whether or not a part extends beyond a maximum position past the end of the corresponding nozzle. The suction of the suction nozzle is controlled for retaining or releasing the parts in accordance with whether the posture detecting device had detected that the part held by a nozzle is proper or not.
