A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a turbo charger located at an upstream side of a throttle valve; an EGR passage through which a part of exhaust gas is re-circulated in a form of EGR toward a more upstream side than the turbo charger; an EGR control valve disposed in a midway through the EGR passage; and a valve timing control device modifiable a valve timing of an engine valve, characterized in that the control apparatus further comprises: EGR rate predicting means for anticipating and predicting a variation of an EGR rate within a cylinder of the internal combustion engine developed by a modification of an opening angle of the EGR control valve and wherein the valve timing control device is controlled on a basis of a prediction by the EGR rate predicting means and an internal EGR gas quantity is adjusted in order for the EGR rate within the cylinder to become a target EGR rate, wherein the EGR rate predicting means predicts an EGR rate at a predetermined position of an intake system which is more downstream side than a junction section between the EGR passage and an intake passage, and wherein the predetermined position is modified in accordance with a time duration from a time at which the target value of the valve timing control device is modified to a time at which the valve timing of the engine valve is varied. a turbo charger located at an upstream side of a throttle valve; an EGR passage through which a part of exhaust gas is re-circulated in a form of EGR toward a more upstream side than the turbo charger; an EGR control valve disposed in a midway through the EGR passage; and a valve timing control device modifiable a valve timing of an engine valve, characterized in that the control apparatus further comprises: EGR rate predicting means for anticipating and predicting a variation of an EGR rate within a cylinder of the internal combustion engine developed by a modification of an opening angle of the EGR control valve and wherein the valve timing control device is controlled on a basis of a prediction by the EGR rate predicting means and an internal EGR gas quantity is adjusted in order for the EGR rate within the cylinder to become a target EGR rate, wherein the EGR rate predicting means predicts an EGR rate at a predetermined position of an intake system which is more downstream side than a junction section between the EGR passage and an intake passage, and wherein the predetermined position is modified in accordance with a time duration from a time at which the target value of the valve timing control device is modified to a time at which the valve timing of the engine valve is varied. EGR rate predicting means for anticipating and predicting a variation of an EGR rate within a cylinder of the internal combustion engine developed by a modification of an opening angle of the EGR control valve and wherein the valve timing control device is controlled on a basis of a prediction by the EGR rate predicting means and an internal EGR gas quantity is adjusted in order for the EGR rate within the cylinder to become a target EGR rate, wherein the EGR rate predicting means predicts an EGR rate at a predetermined position of an intake system which is more downstream side than a junction section between the EGR passage and an intake passage, and wherein the predetermined position is modified in accordance with a time duration from a time at which the target value of the valve timing control device is modified to a time at which the valve timing of the engine valve is varied.