Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust gas purifying apparatus for an internal combustion engine which can properly purge at least NOx of unpurified components contained in exhaust gas while considering characteristics of NOx desorbed from an adsorbent. A bypass passage 18 bypassing a main exhaust passage 12 of the internal combustion engine 10 is provided. A HC/NOx adsorbent 22 having a function of adsorbing HC and NOx is provided in the bypass passage 18. A second underfloor catalyst 30 is provided downstream of the adsorbent 22. A purge passage 26 branching off from the bypass passage 18 while connecting to an intake passage is provided. An exhaust switching valve 20 and a purge control valve 28 are provided as a flow path switching means that is capable of switching a flow target into which the exhaust gas flows between the main exhaust passage 12 and the bypass passage 18. If the purging operations are executed, the intake purging operation is first executed.