Disclosed herein is an electrophoretic display apparatus switchable between a black-white mode and a color mode. The electrophoretic display apparatus includes an electrophoretic display panel, a light guide, a light source, a light-splitting element and a lens element. The light guide is disposed in front of a display area of the electrophoretic display panel. The light source is operable to emit a light, which is directed to the display area by the light guide. The light-splitting element is disposed between the light guide and the electrophoretic display panel, and is operable to split the light into a first, a second and a third beam each having a principal wavelength different from the others. The lens element is disposed between the light-splitting element and the display area, and is operable to direct the first, second and third beams to corresponding sub-pixels.