An exhaust gas purification apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising: an NOx catalyst to be arranged in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine; a detection unit configured to detect the temperature of said NOx catalyst; a smoke reduction unit configured to execute smoke reduction processing including processing to advance fuel injection timing, which is the time when fuel is injected into a cylinder of the internal combustion engine, the smoke reduction processing causing the internal combustion engine to operate in such a manner that an amount of smoke discharged from the internal combustion engine becomes small; an air amount reduction unit configured to execute air amount reduction processing which is processing to cause the internal combustion engine to operate in such a manner that an amount of intake air to be sucked into the internal combustion engine becomes small; a temperature raising unit configured to execute temperature raising processing which is processing to raise the temperature of said NOx catalyst; and a control unit configured to perform control of the smoke reduction unit, air amount reduction unit and temperature raising unit such that: 1) when the temperature detected by said detection unit is less than a lower limit value which is lower than an activation temperature of said NOx catalyst, said smoke reduction processing and said air amount reduction processing are executed without executing said temperature raising processing, and 2) when the temperature detected by said detection unit is equal to or more than said lower limit value and at the same time is less than said activation temperature, said temperature raising processing is executed. an NOx catalyst to be arranged in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine; a detection unit configured to detect the temperature of said NOx catalyst; a smoke reduction unit configured to execute smoke reduction processing including processing to advance fuel injection timing, which is the time when fuel is injected into a cylinder of the internal combustion engine, the smoke reduction processing causing the internal combustion engine to operate in such a manner that an amount of smoke discharged from the internal combustion engine becomes small; an air amount reduction unit configured to execute air amount reduction processing which is processing to cause the internal combustion engine to operate in such a manner that an amount of intake air to be sucked into the internal combustion engine becomes small; a temperature raising unit configured to execute temperature raising processing which is processing to raise the temperature of said NOx catalyst; and a control unit configured to perform control of the smoke reduction unit, air amount reduction unit and temperature raising unit such that: 1) when the temperature detected by said detection unit is less than a lower limit value which is lower than an activation temperature of said NOx catalyst, said smoke reduction processing and said air amount reduction processing are executed without executing said temperature raising processing, and 2) when the temperature detected by said detection unit is equal to or more than said lower limit value and at the same time is less than said activation temperature, said temperature raising processing is executed.