A rope pulling exercise apparatus includes an exercise base, a rope base, a pivot base, a pivot-base pulley and a rope. The rope base along an exercise direction has a first end and a second end, and the first end is connected to the exercise base. The pivot base is pivotally joined to the second end of the rope base. A swing direction of the pivot base is relative to the exercise direction. The pivot-base pulley is pivotally connected at the pivot base. The rope has one end connected to the rope base and the other end for pulling along the exercise direction, and the rope is wound around the pivot-base pulley.