A transmitting/receiving apparatus and method for packet retransmission in a mobile communication system. Upon request for a retransmission from a receiver, a transmitter generates first coded bits by inverting initially transmitted coded bits, generates second coded bits by separating the initially transmitted coded bits into a first bit group having a relatively high priority and a second bit group having a relatively low priority and exchanging the first bit group with the second bit group, and generates third coded bits by inverting the exchanged coded bits. The transmitter selects one of the first coded bits, the second coded bits according to the sequence number of a retransmission request received from the receiver, and the third coded bits and maps the selected coded bits to modulation symbols. The transmitter then transmits the modulation symbols to the receiver. |