A method and apparatus for adaptively filtering an input image are provided. The method includes dividing an input image into a plurality of color domains according to a distribution of colors in the input image, respectively calculating a plurality of filter coefficients for the color domains, and adaptively filtering the color domains using the respective filter coefficients. The apparatus includes a domain classification unit which divides an input image into a plurality of color domains according to a distribution of colors in the input image, a filter coefficient calculation unit which respectively calculates a plurality of filter coefficients for the color domains, and a filtering unit which respectively filters the color domains using the filter coefficients. Accordingly, it is possible to enhance picture quality by addressing the problem of limited texture representation capabilities of existing filtering methods and apparatuses especially for memory color domains.