A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell including a switching element and a resistance change element. A first circuit supplies a constant current to the memory cell for an amount of time and a second circuit applies a constant voltage to the memory cell for an amount of time. The semiconductor memory device places the memory cell into an ON state by applying, while applying a first current to the memory cell by the first circuit, a first voltage to the memory cell by the second circuit and performs readout on the memory cell in the ON state by the first current.