A sheet feeding portion is provided with a pair of separation rollers that include a feed roller which conveys the sent sheet and a retard roller which applies a rotation force to return the sheet in a direction opposite to a sheet feeding direction through a torque limiter in a state of being pressed against the feed roller. The sheet feeding portion further includes a rotation transmitting mechanism that transmits a rotation of the retard roller, at the time of sending the sheet to the sheet feeding direction, to the pickup roller and a changing mechanism that switches a retard pressure, which allows the retard roller to be pressed against the feed roller, according to a reaction force that is transmitted to the retard roller from the pickup roller.