This study investigates the air leakage and heat transfer characteristics of a rotary-type air-to-air heat exchanger with a fiber polyester matrix. The leakage airflow rate is measured using a tracer gas method for various ventilation rates and rotational speeds of the matrix wheel. A correlation equation for air leakage is obtained by combining the pressure leakage and the carryover leakage. The pressure leakage is observed to be a function of ventilation airflow rate only, and the carryover leakage is found to be a linear function of rotational speed. The real efficiency of the heat exchanger can be obtained from its apparent efficiencies by taking into account the air leakage ratio. As the ventilation rate increases, the heat recovery efficiency decreases. As the rotational speed of the matrix increases, the efficiency increases initially but reaches a constant value for the rotational speeds over 10 rpm.