Autophagy-related 8 (ATG8) protein has been reported to be involved in plant's innate immune response, but it is not clear whether such genes play a similar role in cereal crops against obligate biotrophic fungal pathogens. Here, we reported an  ATG8  gene from wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), designated  TaATG8j . This gene has three copies located in chromosomes 2AS, 2BS, and 2DS. The transcriptions of all three copies were upregulated in plants of the wheat cultivar Suwon 11, inoculated with an avirulent race (CYR23) of  Puccinia striiformis  f. sp.  tritici  ( Pst ), the causal fungal pathogen of stripe rust. The transient expression of  TaATG8j  in  Nicotiana benthamiana  showed that TaATG8j proteins were distributed throughout the cytoplasm, but mainly in the nucleus and plasma membrane. The overexpression of  TaATG8j  in  N. benthamiana  slightly delayed the cell death caused by the mouse apoptotic protein BAX (BCL2-associated X protein). However, the expression of  TaATG8j  in yeast ( Schizosaccharomyces pombe ) induced cell death. The virus-induced gene silencing of all  TaATG8j  copies rendered Suwon 11 susceptible to the avirulent  Pst  race CYR23, accompanied by an increased fungal biomass and a decreased necrotic area per infection site. These results indicate that  TaATG8j  contributes to wheat resistance against stripe rust fungus by regulating cell death, providing information for the understanding of the mechanisms of wheat resistance to the stripe rust pathogen.