A fuel injection control apparatus of an internal combustion engine is provided with a fuel injection valve that injects fuel directly into a combustion chamber and a controller. When the engine is cold started, a first fuel injection is performed and the injected fuel is spark ignited during the compression stroke, and a second fuel injection is performed during the expansion stroke. The controller selects, according to exhaust emissions, one of a first fuel injection rate and a second fuel injection rate that is lower than the first fuel injection rate as a fuel injection rate during at least the expansion stroke and injects fuel at the selected fuel injection rate. The second fuel injection rate is selected as the fuel injection rate of the second fuel injection and the start timing of the injection is advanced compared with the conventional injection start timing.