A control method of direct injection internal combustion engine that directly injects fuel in a cylinder and includes an engine cooling passage including a cylinder head cooling passage and a cylinder block cooling passage which are independent of one another, and a fuel injection valve having an injection hole of the fuel, the fuel injection valve having a property that when the injected fuel causes a flash boiling, an angle of fuel spray increases to cause an injected fuel to adhere to a peripheral area of the injection hole, the control method comprising: performing a radiator flow passage control mode by respectively adjusting coolant temperatures of the cylinder head cooling passage and a cylinder block cooling passage, the radiator flow passage control mode including a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being configured to control a cylinder block and a cylinder head to have an identical temperature, and the second mode being configured to control the cylinder head to have a temperature lower than a temperature of the cylinder block, wherein the second mode is applied when a load of the engine is higher than a predetermined load or a rotation speed of the engine is higher than a predetermined speed and the first mode is applied in other cases; characterized by obtaining a distal end temperature of the fuel injection valve; and performing a transition from the radiator flow passage control mode to a fuel temperature control mode when the distal end temperature of the fuel injection valve rises to a predetermined temperature during an execution of the radiator flow passage control mode, the fuel temperature control mode being configured to increase a coolant flow rate of the cylinder head cooling passage to cool the fuel before the distal end temperature of the fuel injection valve reaches a temperature at which the flash boiling occurs. performing a radiator flow passage control mode by respectively adjusting coolant temperatures of the cylinder head cooling passage and a cylinder block cooling passage, the radiator flow passage control mode including a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being configured to control a cylinder block and a cylinder head to have an identical temperature, and the second mode being configured to control the cylinder head to have a temperature lower than a temperature of the cylinder block, wherein the second mode is applied when a load of the engine is higher than a predetermined load or a rotation speed of the engine is higher than a predetermined speed and the first mode is applied in other cases; characterized by obtaining a distal end temperature of the fuel injection valve; and performing a transition from the radiator flow passage control mode to a fuel temperature control mode when the distal end temperature of the fuel injection valve rises to a predetermined temperature during an execution of the radiator flow passage control mode, the fuel temperature control mode being configured to increase a coolant flow rate of the cylinder head cooling passage to cool the fuel before the distal end temperature of the fuel injection valve reaches a temperature at which the flash boiling occurs.