A fuel vapor recovery apparatus includes an adsorbent canister capable of capturing fuel vapor, a vapor passage connecting the adsorbent canister to a fuel tank. In addition, the apparatus includes an atmospheric air passage communicating the adsorbent canister with the atmosphere, a purge passage coupling the adsorbent canister to an intake pipe of an internal combustion engine, a purge pump configured to generate a gas flow from the adsorbent canister to the intake pipe through the purge passage, and a flow control valve provided at the purge passage downstream of the purge pump in a direction of the gas flow and configured to regulate the gas flow through the purge passage. Further, the apparatus includes a decompressor configured to decrease pressure upstream of the flow control valve when the pressure upstream of the flow control valve in the direction of the gas flow is higher than the atmospheric pressure.