A control device for an internal combustion engine

A control device for an internal combustion engine, characterized, in that it comprises: an air-fuel ratio sensor provided in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine and can detect an air-fuel ratio of an exhaust gas when it is activated by a warming-up; a Startvorgangsvoreileinrichtung for adjusting an opening time / closing time of an exhaust valve during the starting of the engine to a start opening / Star-closing time at a advance side of a reference open time / reference close time, which serves as a reference value of the opening time / closing time of the exhaust valve after a completion of the warm-up ; a variable valve timing mechanism which can modify the opening time / closing time of the exhaust valve; a reference operating state control means for carrying out a reference operating state control in which the variable valve timing mechanism is brought to the fact that it modifies the opening time / closing time of the exhaust valve according to an operating state of the engine; and temperature obtaining means for obtaining a temperature of the exhaust passage in the vicinity of the air-fuel ratio sensor, wherein when the temperature in the vicinity of which is obtained by the temperature obtaining means during the starting of the engine air-fuel ratio sensor, is less than a Wassertropfenverschwindetemperatur, wherein the water droplets disappear in the exhaust passage, the opening time / closing time of the exhaust valve in the Startoffnungszeit / Star-closing time is kept, and has after the temperature reaches in the vicinity of the air-fuel ratio sensor, the Wassertropfenverschwindetemperatur or exceeded, the reference operating state controlling means starts operating state reference control.