An optical unit 1 includes a voice coil motor 10 which can relatively move a movable part 3 with respect to a fixed part 2 in the axis C direction by using a coil 11 arranged on the fixed part 2 and a magnet 12 arranged on the movable part 3, wherein the movable part 3 includes a movable-side sliding surface which can slide over an inner periphery of the fixed part 2, and a distance L1 from a position closest to an object side to a position closest to an image side of the movable-side sliding surface in the axis C direction of the movable part 3 is greater than a distance from an emission surface of the object-side fixed lens group Gf held by the fixed part 2 to an incident surface of the image-side fixed lens group Gb held by the fixed part 2.
