To inject fuel necessary for forming an air-fuel mixture of a target air-fuel ratio in response to change of a suction air amount due to operation of a variable valve gear in an engine including a fuel injection valve in an intake port, and a mechanism carrying out variable control of an opening characteristic of an intake valve.

First injection of injecting a first injection amount by the fuel injection valve, and second injection of injecting a second injection amount by the fuel injection valve after the first injection and in a latter stage of an intake stroke are carried out. Computing timing of the second injection amount is set on the basis of closing timing of the intake valve based upon a controlled variable of the variable valve gear in computing timing of the first injection amount, and the second injection amount is set on the basis of a change rate of the closing timing of the intake valve based upon a controlled variable of the variable valve gear in computing timing of the second injection amount with respect to the closing time, and a deviation between an intake air amount based upon the controlled variable of the variable valve gear in the computing timing of the first injection amount and an intake air amount based upon the controlled variable of the variable valve gear in the computing timing of the second injection amount.