A pointer detection apparatus includes a conductor pattern with first conductors disposed in a first direction and second conductors disposed in a second direction that crosses the first direction, and a code string signal production circuit for producing signals based on orthogonal code strings with phases different from each other and supplying the produced signals to the first conductors. The apparatus also includes a signal detection circuit connected to the second conductors for detecting a signal corresponding to a variation of electrostatic capacitance between the conductor pattern and a pointer, an analog to digital conversion (ADC) circuit for converting the signal output from the signal detection circuit into a digital signal comprising a word string of multiple bits, and a correlation detection circuit for determining correlation values between the code strings and the word string. The apparatus also includes a memory for storing correlation values successively output from the correlation detection circuit, wherein the pointer is detected based on the correlation values.