A hydraulic control device for automatic transmissions is disclosed. The control device of this invention includes a valve means, of which the valve spool is selectively actuated by a drive pressure, the spring force of a valve spring or a control pressure from the PCV, with the control pressure being used in event of an R-N-D shifting operation. The hydraulic control device thus slowly releases the front clutch pressure during an N-D shifting operation and quickly releases the front clutch pressure during an R-N-D shifting operation, thus smoothly performing the R-N-D shifting operation without generating any shifting shock.