A surface texture measuring instrument includes a contact piece to be in contact with an object, a sensor driving mechanism that moves the contact piece along the surface of the object, a controller that controls the sensor mechanism, and a force sensor that detects a measuring force exerted on the contact piece when the contact piece is brought into contact with the object. The controller includes a target value output that outputs a target value of the measuring force, a feedback controller that performs feedback control of the sensor driving mechanism based on a deviation between the measuring force and the target value, and a feedback compensator provided on the feedback controller. The feedback compensator performs feedback compensation in accordance with the measuring force.