Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the construction principles, design calculations and performance of the ventilation type air-actuated friction clutch. The author proposes to take the ultimate friction torque of the clutch rather than the working torque as the basis of calculation in clutch selection. The ultimate friction torque depends on the dimension of the clutch, air pressure, friction coefficient and the minimum radius of the cavity of the air tube. Based on the data of analysis, experiments and performance, the author points out that the ventilation type air-actuated friction clutch has better heat dispersion, more stable friction coefficient, lower power loss, greater working torque and longer life than those of the conventional type.