A cleaning apparatus in which the contact point portion between the metal plate and rubber blade of a cleaning blade is made into a surface to thereby alleviate the concentration of stress in that portion and prevent the occurrence of the squat of the cleaning blade, and high cleaning performance can be maintained for a long period. In the cleaning apparatus provided with a cleaning blade 22 including a rubber blade 3d adhesively secured to or molded integrally with a metal plate 31, an elastic layer 3c is provided on the distal end portion of the metal plate 31 of the cleaning blade, and the elastic layer 3c supports a surface opposite to that surface of the cleaning blade which contacts with a drum, together with the metal plate.