A tape loading mechanism for a video cassette recording apparatus in which a magnetic tape held in the cassette is withdrawn therefrom by a tape loading arm and is wound around a rotary cylinder.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 o...