Disclosed is an apparatus and a method for enhancing an image in a portable terminal. The apparatus includes an image processor for performing an Image Signal Processing (ISP) for an image received in a preview mode, an ROI processor for extracting an ROI from the image received from the image processor, enhancing an image of the extracted ROI, and synthesizing the image of the enhanced ROI with the image received from the image processor, and a controller for controlling the ROI processor to extract an ROI from an image received from the image processor, enhancing an image of the extracted ROI when a photographing is selected, synthesizing an image of the enhanced ROI with the image received from the image processor, and outputting an synthesized image.