An apparatus and a method for selecting an operation mode to improve a throughput in a mobile communication system are provided. The apparatus includes a Carrier to Interference and Noise Ratio (CINR) predictor for predicting a probable average and dispersion for a CINR measured using a preamble of a received pilot signal or radio signal, a metric calculator for calculating a throughput for each Modulation and Coding Scheme Level (MCS_Level) by using the probable average and dispersion for the predicted CINR and for selecting an MCS_Level having a maximum throughput, and an operation mode selector for selecting an operation mode of the selected MCS_Level having the maximum throughput.