To provide a fabric type identifying apparatus capable of photographing an identifier of fabric with high resolution to correctly recognize the identifier. A fabric type identifying apparatus A for identifying a type of a fabric F provided with an identifier I includes a camera 51 for photographing the fabric F, a traversing device 53 for moving the camera 51 crosswise in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the fabric F, and an image processing apparatus 52 for receiving an image input and photographed by the camera 51. The image processing apparatus 52 identifies the type of the fabric F on a basis of the identifier I included in the input image of the fabric F. The position of the camera 51 is adjustable so that the identifier I passes through a photographing area, thereby enabling to bring the camera 51 closer to the fabric F to photograph the small identifier I with high resolution, resulting in recognizing the identifier I correctly.