Provided is an automatable peeling apparatus for peeling a protective sheet from a prepreg sheet. This peeling apparatus 2 is equipped with a loading unit 11, a prepreg sheet conveying unit 12, a leading end position detection unit 13, air spraying units 14, 15, a peeling state detection unit 16, protective sheet gripping/conveying units 17, 18, an extraction unit 19, and a control unit 20. The control apparatus 20 controls the loading unit 11, the prepreg sheet conveying unit 12, the leading end position detection unit 13, the air spraying units 14, 15, the peeling state detection unit 16, the protective sheet gripping/conveying units 17, 18, and the extraction unit 19. The first spraying mechanism 14 sprays first air onto the front of the end face of the prepreg sheet. The second spraying mechanism 15 sprays second air and fourth air onto the peeling boundary of the protective sheet.