The purpsoe of automatic steering system is to keep the ship's course stable with the minimum course error and rudder angle, and there have been a number of studies as to the optimal design and adjustment of the autopilot. Recently, modern control theories are being used widely in analyzing and designing the system. When a ship is at sea, autopilot installed on the ship plays an important role, particularly in the respect of economic aspects, that is, when the design and the adjustment of adjustable parameters are not conducted perfectly, the amount of loss in energy and the extension of sailing distance become large. Therefore the optimal design and adjustment of a autopilot are very important. Though P.I.D type autopilots are widely spread and generally used in modern ships, the suitability and the adjusting method are not clarified. In this paper the authors considered the stabilaity and the economical efficiency of the P.I.D. type autopilot and investigated various facts which should be considered at the time of designing and using the P.I.D. type autopilot through the digital computer simulation.