Abstract: An adjustable wrench having a fixed jaw, an adjustable jaw which is movable to adjust the gripping distance between the fixed jaw and the adjustable jaw, a sliding jaw portion which is provided as a gripping member on either of the fixed jaw or the adjustable jaw and serves as a wedge to decrease the gripping distance between both the jaws in its sliding in one direction, and a mechanism which automatically returns the sliding jaw portion to its original retracted position.