The invention relates to a charged particle beam lithography system comprising:a charged particle optical column arranged in a vacuum chamber for projecting a charged particle beam onto a target, wherein the column comprises deflecting means for deflecting the charged particle beam in a deflection direction,a target positioning device comprising a carrier for carrying the target, and a stage for carrying and moving the carrier along a first direction, wherein the first direction is different from the deflection direction, wherein the target positioning device comprises a first actuator for moving the stage in the first direction relative to the charged particle optical column,wherein the carrier is displaceably arranged on the stage and wherein the target positioning device comprises retaining means for retaining the carrier with respect to the stage in a first relative position.
