The present invention restrains, during a transfer of a substrate, a central portion of the substrate from being warped by its own weight, which might be caused by a super-enlargement of a diameter of the substrate. A substrate transfer apparatus 18 includes: a support part 17 which is moved above a substrate w of a large diameter; and an upside grip mechanism 28 disposed on the support part 17, the upside grip mechanism 28 capable of supporting a peripheral portion of the substrate w from above. The support part 17 is provided with a non-contact sucking and holding part 30 having a suction hole 31 and a blow hole 32. The non-contact sucking and holding part 30 sucks and holds the substrate w in a non-contact manner, by blowing a gas onto the central portion of the upper surface of the substrate w and sucking the central portion to form an air layer 50 such that the central portion of the wafer w is not warped.