A cell/tissue culture apparatus for applying a desired tensile stress to a material to be cultivated such as a cell or tissue as a physical stimulation, thereby enhancing acceleration of culture of the material to be cultivated. The cell/tissue culture apparatus comprises a chamber (a culture chamber 8) for circulating a culture fluid (24), a material to be cultivated (a matrix 32) that is placed and cultivated in the chamber, stress generation means (an electromagnetic stretcher 38, an actuator 56) for causing a tensile stress to act on the material to be cultivated from an outside of the chamber, and control means (controllers 50, 60) for causing the tensile stress generated by the stress generation means to intermit as well as undergo gradual increase or gradual decrease. The material to be cultivated can be caused to undergo expansion or contraction by applying and relieving the tensile stress, thereby applying a physical stimulation necessary for the proliferation to the material to be cultivated.