A blood circulation detection apparatus has a measurer to measure a pulse wave of a subject based on a received optical signal diffused in a body of the subject and received when an optical signal in a predetermined frequency band is emitted to the subject, and a blood circulation detector to detect blood circulation of the subject based on a D. C. component of the received optical signal, a blood-volume change amount of the pulse wave from a rising time of the pulse wave to a time when a first-order differentiation value of the pulse wave with time becomes maximum, and a first-order differentiation value of the blood volume change amount with time.
