A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine that can suppress the emission of unburned HC accompanying start-up of an internal combustion engine. The control apparatus including a fuel supply control unit that initially supplies fuel to only some cylinders, and delays the start of fuel supply to delayed cylinders that are cylinders other than the aforementioned cylinders; an engine discharge gas HC amount predicting unit that calculates a relationship between a delayed cylinder starting engine speed that is a engine speed at a timing at which a cycle starts in which a delayed cylinder initially carries out combustion and a predicted value of an engine discharge gas HC amount; and a target engine speed calculating unit that calculates a target engine speed that is a target value of the delayed cylinder starting engine speed.