The package lift apparatus serves for lifting a wound yarn package in contact with a rotating drive roll which drives the yarn package in a textile machine. Known equipment of this type requires a considerable degree of manual operation or exhibits a relatively complicated, and thus, expensive construction which is prone to malfunction. These drawbacks are avoided with the inventive yarn package lift apparatus which contains a piston-and-cylinder unit, wherein the piston rod of the piston carries a package support member. During one time interval the piston is exposed to a drive force which moves the package support member against a lower region of the package surface and thus lifts the yarn package from the drive roll. When the package support member is in an extended position the pressure or force exerted by the yarn package upon this package support member causes canting of the piston against the cylinder, so that from the moment of such canting of the piston the package support member is fixedly clamped or jammed in its yarn package supporting position. Due to the action of a continually exerted return or restoring force the piston and the package support member move back into their starting positions whenever there is merely exerted a slight brief lifting of the yarn package.