An apparatus for diagnosing lubricant degradation includes a soot amount estimator configured to estimate an amount of soot formed in a predetermined period in a combustion chamber of an engine, and diagnoses the degradation of a lubricant based on a cumulative value of the amount of soot estimated. The soot amount estimator calculates the amount of soot based on a speed of the engine and a load parameter related to a load of the engine, and corrects, based on a temperature parameter correlated to the temperature of the combustion chamber, the amount of soot calculated into an increased value if the temperature parameter is lower than a predetermined first temperature.