The exhaust gas purification apparatus for an internal combustion engine that includes an oxidation catalyst and a selective catalytic reduction catalyst provided for an exhaust gas passage and has the improved entire NOx purification rate. A control unit, which controls a fuel supply amount to the oxidation catalyst, executes first control of controlling the fuel supply amount by the fuel supply unit so that NOx is reduced by the oxidation catalyst when the selective catalytic reduction catalyst is in an inactive state and the temperature of the oxidation catalyst belongs to a predetermined temperature range equal to or higher than the active temperature of the oxidation catalyst, and second control of controlling the fuel supply amount by the fuel supply unit so that the temperature of the exhaust gas flowing into the selective catalytic reduction catalyst is raised by oxidation of the fuel in the oxidation catalyst irrespective of a NOx purification rate of the selective catalytic reduction catalyst when the selective catalytic reduction catalyst is in the inactive state and the temperature of the oxidation catalyst exceeds the predetermined temperature range.