The present invention aims to provide an item-carrying system in which a robot can perform an item-receiving motion without giving the human a sense of discomfort when receiving it from the human. The item-carrying system comprises: a robot comprising: a gripping portion for gripping an item and can open/close; external force detecting means for detecting an external force applied to the gripping portion; opening-degree detecting means for detecting an opening-degree of the gripping portion; and autonomous movement means; and receiving/passing motion deciding means 240 for deciding a motion of the robot in an item receiving/passing operation, the system receiving/passing the item with the gripping portion, wherein the receiving/passing motion deciding means 240 comprises: means for determining to start receiving an item 243 that causes the gripping portion to start a receiving motion if the external force detecting means has detected an external force not less than a first predetermined value, when the gripping portion is not gripping an item; and means for determining the completion of a receiving motion that determines the completion of an item-receiving motion on the basis of at least one of an external force detected by the external force detecting means and an opening-degree detected by the opening-degree detecting means, during the receiving motion.