An apparatus for detecting a vehicle includes a magnetic sensor that continuously obtains a magnetic signal varied due to movement of a vehicle; a gradient detecting unit that detects a gradient of the magnetic signal based on the obtained magnetic signal; and a vehicle status transitioning unit that generates status transition information of the vehicle based on the detected gradient. The apparatus further includes a vehicle coming-in/out determining unit that determines coming-in or coming-out of the vehicle based on the vehicle status transition information.