To provide an endoscope apparatus which usually displays a white light image and simultaneously, acquires a narrow band light image and a bright near infrared fluorescence image with high SN.

The endoscope apparatus includes: an illumination part 1 of white light and near infrared excitation light; an optical path branch part 2 branching the reflection light into two optical paths and guiding an near infrared fluorescence image only to a second optical path; a white light image acquisition part 3 disposed on the second optical path; a variable spectroscopic optical element 4 disposed on the second optical path; a special light image acquisition part 5 acquiring a narrow band light image or near infrared fluorescence image transmitted by the variable spectroscopic optical element 4; an imaging mode switching part 6 switching the imaging mode to any of a narrow band imaging mode and a near infrared imaging mode; and a control part 7 switching the spectral characteristics of the variable spectral optical element 4 in such a manner that the transmission peak is caused to exist in a desired narrow band within a wavelength band of the white light and to transmit near infrared fluorescence wavelength in the narrow band imaging mode, and the transmission peak is caused to not exist within the wavelength band of white light and to transmit the near infrared fluorescence light wavelength in the near infrared imaging mode.