MBA Entrance Exam Question Papers: Download CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT Question Paper PDFs
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MBA aspirants preparing for MBA will need question papers of various MBA entrance exam for preparation. We have provided here previous year question papers of CAT, XAT, CMAT and MAT exam for practice.
If you are planning to appear for any MBA entrance exam this year, you must know the key source of preparation. All MBA entrance exams are speed based. Candidates have to display their knowledge and skills within a given time limit. The questions are objective type thus.
So, if you are planning to appear in CAT 2026, MAT 2026, XAT 2027 or CMAT 2027, you must refer to their previous year question papers. It will help you in understanding the examination structure, question type, difficulty level, sectional weightage, topic wise weightage and other trends over the years. MBA entrance exam question papers also help in planning the preparation w.r.t, most important or most scoring topics.
Although, the syllabus of all MBA entrance exams is common but the pattern and question types vary. So, does the marking scheme. You can know the differences between any two exams only after seeing and practicing the official MBA question papers. We have shared here MBA question papers of previous years for CAT XAT, CMAT and MAT. Also, find practice questions and mock tests for these MBA exam. Before that, let’s understand the benefits of practicing previous years' question papers for MBA preparation.
Also Read: Top MBA Entrance Exams in India 2026
- Benefits of Practicing CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT Question Papers
- CAT previous year question papers: Sectional Break Up and Marks Allotted
- XAT previous year question papers
- CMAT previous year question paper
- MAT previous year question papers
Benefits of Practicing CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT Question Papers
Every entrance exam is a speed based test in which candidates have to attempt MCQs subjects like Quantitative Aptitude, Language Cmprehension, Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning and General Knowldege. XAT and CMAT have unique sections like Decision Making and Innovation and Entrepreneurship (respectively). Moreover, every exam is unique. So, here are the benefits of practicing previous years' question papers of CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT for MBA preparation:
1. By practicing previous years' question papers you can get familiar with the test structure and exam pattern.
2. You can know section wise and topcic wise weightage as well as the type of questions asked.
3. Preparation of RC passage of CAT, Decision Making passages of XAT and Innovation and Entrepreneurship of CMAT can be best done with the help of previous years' question papers only.
4. There is negative marking in MBA entrance exams for incorrect attempt. With practice of previous years' questions papers candidates can learn which questions to attempt and which ones to skip to avoid negative marking.
5. Having practice of questions asked previously, will boost confidence in the exam as you will be well prepared to handle all types of questions.
CAT previous year question papers: Sectional Break Up and Marks Allotted
CAT is a 2-hour exam having three sections - VARC, LRDI and Quantitative Aptitude. The difficulty level of CAT question paper is always moderate to high. CAT previous year question paper pattern and marking scheme are tabulated below:
| CAT question paper (sections) |
Number of Questions |
Marks Allotted |
|---|---|---|
| VARC |
24 |
72 |
| DILR |
22 |
66 |
| QA |
22 |
66 |
| Total |
68 |
204 |
Download Previous Year CAT Question Paper PDFs
Given below are the CAT question paper PDFs of past eight years. Download these CAT previous year papers free.
CAT Mock Test for Practice
Shiksha’s free CAT mock tests are based on actual CAT previous year question papers. Practice these and prepare for CAT 2026:
XAT previous year question papers
XAT has a unique section and unique marking scheme. The XAT question paper is usually of moderate to high difficulty level. Earlier, it used to have Essay Writing but, XAT 2025 and 2026 did not have it. XAT 2027 question paper will also not have Essay Writing. Check here the composition of XAT previous year paper (2026):
| XAT Sections |
Number of Questions |
Marks Alloted |
|---|---|---|
| Decision Making |
21 |
21 |
| Verbal and Logical Ability |
26 |
26 |
| Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation |
28 |
28 |
| General Knowledge |
20 |
20 |
| Total |
95 |
95 |
Download XAT Previous Year Question Paper PDFs
Given below are the XAT question paper PDFs of past five years. Download these XAT previous year papers free.
| XAT_2017 Question Paper | |
| XAT 2022 Question Paper | XAT_2016 Question Paper |
| XAT_2021 Question Paper | XAT_2015 Question Paper |
| XAT_2020 Question Paper |
XAT Mock Test for Practice
Shiksha’s free XAT mock tests are based on actual XAT previous year question papers. Practice these and prepare for XAT 2026:
| XAT_Mock_Test_2 |
CMAT previous year question paper
CMAT is a 3-hour exam having five sections. CMAT’s uniqueness is the Innovation and Entrepreneurship section. CMAT is the only exam that has this section. The difficulty level of CMAT question paper is moderate. CMAT previous year question paper pattern and marking scheme are tabulated below:
| CMAT Sections |
Number of Questions |
Marks Allotted |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation |
20 |
80 |
| Logical Reasoning |
20 |
80 |
| Language Comprehension |
20 |
80 |
| General Awareness |
20 |
80 |
| Innovation & Entrepreneurship |
20 |
80 |
| Total |
100 |
400 |
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Download CMAT Previous Year Question Paper PDFs
Given below are the CMAT question paper PDFs of past years. Download these CMAT previous year papers free.
| CMAT 2022 Question Paper |
CMAT Mock Test for Practice
Shiksha’s free CMAT mock tests are based on actual CMAT previous year question papers. Practice these and prepare for CMAT 2025:
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MAT previous year question papers
MAT is conducted in multiple phases and multiple sessions. The MAT question paper of every session has a unique set of questions. Check below the sectional composition of latest MAT question paper:
| MAT sections |
Number of Questions |
Marks Allotted |
|---|---|---|
| Language Comprehension |
30 |
30 |
| Intelligence and Critical Reasoning |
30 |
30 |
| Data Analysis and Sufficiency |
30 |
30 |
| Mathematical Skills |
30 |
30 |
| Indian and Global Environment |
30 |
30 |
| Total |
150 |
150 |
Commonly asked questions
Aspirants should start practicing XAT mock tests after completing the syllabus. Ideal time duration to solve XAT mock tests is October to December. Official mock test is released a week before the exam, so candidates must attempt it at least once before the exam.
In XAT, Reading Comprehension passages are usually taken from Philosophy, Psychology, History, Art, research articles. Sometime, the XAT RC section also has poems. These areas are chosen to test the candidates, who are largely Science, Commerce and Engineering graduates, on their ability to come out of their comfort zone and adapt to unfamiliar situations. Out of 26 questions, about 14-16 questions are based on RC passages or a poem. Candidates must target solving about 10 questions accurately to score well. XAT has negative marking so do not mark an option as your answer if you are not 100 percent sure of it.
Download MAT Previous Year Question Paper PDFs
Given below are the MAT question paper PDFs of past years. Download these MAT previous year papers free.
| MAT Sample Question Paper |
MAT Mock Test for Practice
Shiksha’s free MAT mock tests are based on actual MAT previous year question papers. Practice these and prepare for MAT 2026 exam::
Read More:
Commonly asked questions
Difficulty level in CAT exam is not specific to any of the three slots. The difficulty level across slots may vary every year. Know how the CAT scores are normalised: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/understanding-cat-normalization-process-blogId-9386.
No. The exam pattern of MAT IBT is not different from CBT or PBT. In fact, the MAT exam pattern of all test modes is the same. The duration of MAT exam (PBT, CBT and IBT modes) is 2 hours or 120 minutes. The marking scheme is - plus one for correct attempt and minus 0.25 for incorrect attempt. There is no sectional time limit in MAT so candidates can utilise the 2 hours as per their own strategy. They should ideally, spend 25 minutes each on the top four sections and 15 minutes on the GK section. However, there may be slight difference in difficulty level because the questions in each MAT session are unique. No question is repeated in any session across CBT, PBT or IBT. This is to prevent any candidate from getting advantage or facing disadvantage due to leaking of the questions or in case of a candidates re-attempting the exam.
Yes, there is a negative marking in CMAT exam. For each wrong answer, 1 mark will be deducted. However, no marks will be deducted for unanswered questions.
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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