A tape loading mechanism for a video cassette recording apparatus in which a magnetic tape held in the cassette is withdrawn therefrom by a tape loading arm and is wound around a rotary cylinder. During this time, the cassette is fixed on the upper surface of a chassis having a cam bore, which is driven by a rotary arm in which a pin inserted in the cam bore is set up. This cam bore is provided with a first cam surface having a radius of curvature equal to that of a locus of a turning movement of the pin, a second cam surface formed continuously from the first cam surface and having a radius of curvature different from that of a locus of a turning movement of the pin, and a third cam surface formed continuously from the second cam surface and having a radius of curvature equal to that of a locus of a turning movement of the pin. Accordingly, the movement of the cassette is started at a predetermined period of time after the movement of the tape loading arm has been started, and it is completed before the movement of the tape loading arm has been completed.