In a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine having a valve timing control portion controlling the timing opening and closing of an intake valve disposed in an intake port communicating with a cylinder of the internal combustion engine, when the internal combustion engine is being started from a cold condition, multi-stroke operation is set, in which one combustion cycle of the internal combustion engine includes two or more intake and compression strokes, formed by a first intake stroke and the first compression stroke and a second intake stroke and compression stroke, followed by a combustion stroke and an exhaust stroke. The valve timing control portion controls a lift of the intake valve during the first intake stroke and the first compression stroke to a low lift amount, which is smaller than the normal lift amount required for intake of a requested intake air amount, and controls the lift of the intake valve in a second intake and a second compression stroke to the normal lift amount.