Heat pump drying has a great potential for energy saving due to its high energy efficiency in comparison with conventional air drying. In the present study, the performance simulation for the basic design of a heat pump dryer has been carried out. The simulation includes one-stage heat pump cycle, simple drying process using the drying efficiency. As an example, the heat pump cycle with Refrigerant 134a has been investigated. For the operating conditions such as the average temperature of the condenser, the heat rate released in the condenser, the flow rate of drying air, and drying efficiency, the simulation has been carried out to figure out the performance of the dryer. The parameters considered in the design of the dryer are COP, MER, SMER, the rate of dehumidification, the temperature and humidity of drying air and those parameters are compared for different conditions after carrying out the simulation.