An exhaust gas purifying catalyst including a carrier having a plurality of cells as exhaust gas passages, an HC adsorbent layer formed on the carrier of each of the cells, and an upper catalyst layer disposed on an upstream side of each of the exhaust gas passages on the HC adsorbent layer and a lower catalyst layer disposed on a downstream side of each of the exhaust gas passages on the HC adsorbent layer. The upper catalyst layer includes more O2-storage material than the lower catalyst layer, and the lower catalyst layer includes a catalyst having a wider activation range than the upper catalyst layer.