Target levels in the PRML method are adaptively set under conditions of simplicity and a low cost. A method of setting a target level for reproduction of an optical information recording medium includes: a step of producing a reproduction signal from reflected light of laser light irradiated to an optical information recording medium; a step of performing waveform equalization processing, which depends on a predetermined partial response characteristic, on the reproduction signal to produce a waveform-equalized reproduction signal; a step of detecting peak levels for marks and spaces of a predetermined number of symbols from the waveform-equalized reproduction signal irrespective of a condition for a symbol adjoining each symbol; and a setting step of determining and setting values of a plurality of target levels, which is employed in Viterbi decoding and is arrayed with non-equal intervals among them, on the basis of a relative relationship among the detected peak levels.