An apparatus and a method are provided for recognizing driving environment for an autonomous vehicle. The apparatus includes a controller configured to receive navigation information from a satellite navigation receiver. The controller is further configured to receive map data from a map storage and image data from an image sensor regarding captured images from around a vehicle and distance information from a distance sensor regarding sensed objects positioned around the vehicle. The controller is also configured to determine a fusion method for information measured by the image sensor and the distance sensor based on a receiving state of the satellite navigation receiver and precision of the map data to recognize the driving environment.