A tape reproducing direction detecting apparatus for a digital VTR in which a reproducing direction of a tape on which each field of a digital video signal is recorded over a plurality of predetermined slant tracks together with a field identifier and a segment identifier is comprised of a track number generating circuit for generating track numbers corresponding to a plurality of the slant tracks on the basis of the field identifier and the segment identifier, and a track number detecting circuit for detecting the increase and decrease of the track numbers.