To provide a method and device for transferring thin plate materials, producing a reduction in size and cost of the device by allowing transfer of even extremely thin plate materials easily separated by the minimum number of vacuum pads.

Reciprocative vacuum pads 28a, 28b are used for sucking and lifting the uppermost thin plate 8 at its edge upper face on a stacker crane 1 side and towing it in the direction of a loading space 7 of the stacker crane 1. Thus, the uppermost thin plate material 8 out of the large size and extremely thin plate materials 8 can be easily sucked by the minimum number of vacuum pads 28a, 28b and transferred because the whole upper face of the thin plate material 8 is not so sucked by the vacuum pads 28a, 28b as conventional.