Provided are an apparatus and method for describing and processing digital items using a scene representation language. The apparatus includes a digital item method engine (DIME) unit for executing components based on component information included in the digital item; and a scene representation unit for expressing scenes of a plural number of media data included in the digital item in a form of defining spatio-temporal relations and allowing the media data to interact with each other. The digital item includes scene representation having representation information of the scene, and calling information for the digital item express unit to execute the scene representation unit in order to represent the scene based on the scene representation information at the scene representation unit.