A hydraulic control apparatus (1) is provided with an oil pump (4) that draws oil from an oil pan (3) due to the rotation of the crankshaft, a piston jet (6) that open when the hydraulic pressure of the oil that has been drawn from this oil pump (4) attains a valve opening pressure Qa and injects oil toward a piston through an oil injection path (5), a relief valve (8) that is disposed on an oil return path (7) and opens when the hydraulic pressure of the oil that has been drawn by the oil pump (4) has attained a valve opening pressure Qb, and a switching valve (9) that is disposed on the oil return path (7). The valve opening pressure Qb is set to a pressure that is lower than that of the valve opening pressure Qa.