An apparatus for opening and closing a slide type portable terminal comprising a guide unit formed between a display unit and a body unit for guiding the display unit to be moved in a longitudinal direction, a driving unit for moving the display unit, and a switching unit for applying a power to the driving unit to move the display unit in the longitudinal direction, wherein the switching unit applies a forward power to the driving unit to move the display unit in an open direction and applies a reverse power to the driving unit to move the display unit in a closed direction.