An apparatus for operating a roller up and down is provided, which includes a main body fixed to a bottom of a shoe, an operating body to which the roller is imbedded, which is slidably mounted within the main body, and an operating assembly to move the operating body within the main body between an operating position and a non-operating position, wherein the roller protrudes out from the main body in the operating position while the roller is retracted into the main body in the non-operating position. A wearer of a shoe is capable of shifting the shoe between an operating position in which the roller protrudes out from the bottom of the shoe and a non-operating position in which the roller is retracted into the bottom of the shoe, by a simple operation. Accordingly, the shoe can be used as a roller shoe when the roller is in the operating position, and used as a general walking shoe for everyday use when the roller is in the non-operating position. As a result, the wearer can conveniently use a roller shoe as well as a walking shoe with one shoe.