To provide a heat pump type water heater capable of preventing the inside of a circulating passage from freezing and also shortening a defrost time and assuring a reliability.

This heat pump type water heater comprises a hot water storage tank 3 and a circulating passage 12 connected to the hot water storage tank 3. An operation is possible for heating low temperature water flowing out of the lower part of the hot water storage tank 3 to the circulating passage 12 by a heat pump heating source for boiling and discharge the hot water to the upper part of the hot water storage tank 3. The refrigerant circulating circuit of the heat pump heating source comprises a defrost circuit 38 for supplying hot gas from a compressor 25 to an air heat exchanger 28. A defroster operation is possible for supplying hot gas to the air heat exchanger 28 is the stopped state of a water circulating pump 13 in the circulating passage 12. When a specified time or longer passes after the start of the defroster operation, the water circulating pump 13 is driven.