An apparatus and method for recognizing motion by using an event-based vision sensor is provided. An apparatus for recognizing motion using an event-based vision sensor includes: a vision sensor to sense a movement-occurring part and output events; a movement type determiner configured to determine a type of movement using a frequency of occurrence of the events outputted through the vision sensor; a first motion determiner configured to track a movement trajectory of the movement-occurring part and determine a motion pattern based on the movement trajectory in response to a result of the movement type determination unit indicating a small movement; a second motion determiner configured to determine a direction of movement direction in which an object moves based on the events in response to a result of the movement type determination indicating a large movement; and a motion controller configured to output a control instruction to control a device.