PURPOSE: To obtain an apparatus for automatically folding shirts which can automatically fold with an installation area reduced by hanging a shirt or the like on a back plate, closing a flap while blowing air for folding its sides and then leading it into an automatic packaging machine.

CONSTITUTION: When a back plate 1 with a shirt hanging is moved to a position where air ejection holes 8, 8 are placed by rotation of a rotating table 7, a slant air cylinder placed behind the back plate 1 stretches to push up a rear of the back plate to have it inclined toward backward. Then air is blown to both sides of the shirt from air ejection holes 8, 8, and at the same time, opened flaps 2,2 are closed so that both sides can be completely folded. Then with the air cylinder shrinking to its initial position, the back plate 1 returns to a vertical state by restoring force of a constant load spring 5 and tensile coil springs 6, 6 attached to a lower part of the back plate 1 and is moved to an automatic packaging machine 9. An inlet air cylinder 4 behind the back plate stretches at this position to lead the back plate 1 to the machine 9, and the shirt is packaged from upward into a packing bag 10.