A rotary transfer press comprising a bed; an upright extending upward from the bed; a crown mounted on the upright and providing a plurality of stations between the crown and the bed in an annular arrangement; a slide upwardly and downwardly movable by being guided by the upright; a feed bar having clamps corresponding in number to the number of the stations and provided around the upright for transferring workpieces from station to station in succession; a slide drive disposed in the crown for moving the slide upward and downward and comprising a main shaft coupled to a main electric motor to rotate at a reduced speed, eccentric rings coupled to the main shaft to rotate at a reduced speed and connecting rods connecting the eccentric rings to the slide; a feed bar lifting drive having a lift cam coupled to one of the eccentric rings and adapted to be actuated by the lift cam for moving the feed bar upward and downward; a feed bar feeding-drive having a feed cam coupled to one of the eccentric rings and adapted to be actuated by the feed cam; and a clamp drive having a clamp cam coupled to one of the eccentric rings and adapted to be actuated by the clamp cam for operating the clamps. Since the feeding movement and upward and downward movement of the feed bar and the operation of the clamps are mechanically related to the movement of the slide, press work can be conducted stably even at a high speed.