An air valve device is adapted to be fitted into an opening of an inflatable article, and includes a valve seat formed with a valve body that is disposed between an inflating port and a conduit, an axially movable member having a valve disc which is disposed in the conduit to be moved between open and closed positions, and a plunger which is connected to the valve disc and which has a head end disposed in the inflating port, a biasing member disposed to bias the valve disc to the closed position, and a releasably retaining mechanism disposed between the valve seat and the plunger to arrest axial movement of the movable member against the biasing action of the biasing member when the valve disc is in the open position, thereby facilitating inflation and deflation of the inflatable article.