MBA Entrance Exam Question Papers: Download CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT Question Paper PDFs

MBA Entrance Exam Question Papers: Download CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT Question Paper PDFs

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Vipra
Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Updated on Aug 22, 2025 15:12 IST

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. MBA Question Papers for Practice

Download MBA entrance exam question papers for practice

MBA entrance exam preparation is incomplete without practice of previous year question papers. If you are planning to appear for any of the top MBA entrance exams in India, such as CAT 2025, MAT 2025, XAT 2026 or CMAT 2026, you must refer to their previous year question papers. It will help you in understanding the examination structure, difficulty level of the questions, sectional weightage, topic wise weightage and other trends over the years. If you have a knowledge of these aspects of any exam, you will be able to prepare better.

Although, the syllabus of all MBA entrance exams is same but the pattern and question types vary. 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, lets understand the benefits of practicing previous years' question papers for MBA preparation. 

Also Read: Top MBA Entrance Exams in India 2025-2026

Table of content
  • 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 one can get familiar with the test structure and exam pattern. They will know section wise and topcic wise weightage as well as the type of questions asked. 

2. They will learn and improve time management skills as these MBA entrance exams are time bound and expect candidates to attempt maximum questions in minimum time. 

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. Practice of previous years' questions papers will teach you which questions to attempt and which ones to skip to avoid negative marking. 

5. Having prior 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 2024 Question Paper Slot 2 CAT  2021 Question Paper
CAT 2024 Question Paper Slot 3

CAT 2020  Question Paper

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 1

CAT 2019 Question Paper

CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot 3

CAT 2018 Question Paper

CAT 2022 Question Paper Slot 3

CAT 2017 Question Paper

CAT 2022 Questio Paper Slot 1  

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 2025:

CAT_Mock_Test_1

CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions

CAT_Mock_Test_2

CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

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 did not have it. Check here the composition of XAT previous year paper (2025):

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 2024 Question Paper

XAT_2018 Question Paper

XAT 2023 Question Paper

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_1

XAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions

XAT_Mock_Test_2

XAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

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 2025 Question Paper

CMAT 2021 Question Paper

CMAT 2024 Question Paper

CMAT 2020 Question Paper

CMAT 2022 Question Paper

CMAT 2019 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:

CMAT_Mock_Test_1

CMAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions

CMAT_Mock_Test_2

CMAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates

CAT 2025 admit card download

12 Nov '25

CMAT 2026 registration and app...

17 Oct '25 - 18 Nov '25

SNAP 2025 Registration Process

1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25

MICAT (I) Registrations

30 Sep '25 - 20 Nov '25

XAT 2026 Exam registration

10 Jul '25 - 5 Dec '25

MAT PBT Registration 2025 (Dec )

23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25

NMAT 2025 Rescheduling Window

1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25

IBSAT 2025 Registration

1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25

SRCC GBO Registration 2026

21 Dec '25

BMAT 2026 Application Release

31 Dec '25

MAT previous year question papers

Till 2023, MAT question paper comprised 200 questions but from 2024 onwards, the number of questions have been reduced to 150. MAT is easy and one can attempt it multiple times as well. 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

Q:   Which CAT slot has the toughest question paper?
A:
There is no pattern to which CAT question paper can be the toughest. The CAT question paper of every slot has unique questions. The examination body strives to maintain the same difficulty level of the paper across all slots but it may happen that a question can be more difficult from another. It is seen that, to keep the uniqueness of the question paper intact, the examination authority also changes the topic wise weightage a little bit across the exam slots. In most of the previous years, it is seen that the morning slot of the CAT exam is tougher than the rest two. However, candidates must not worry about the difficulty level of the slots as, the scores of all the candidates are normalised on a common scale to root out the possibility of advantage or disadvantage to any student due to difference in difficulty level. To know how the CAT scores are normalised, read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/understanding-cat-normalization-process-blogId-9386.
Q:   How many RC questions does CAT have?
A:

The CAT VARC section is dominated by RC questions. Out of 24 questions about 14-16 are based on Reading Comprehension passages and the rest of them are based on parajumbles, para completion, etc.

CAT has about 12-16 RC question. Since, it is not mandatory to solve all the questions, candidates can maximize their scores by leaving out the questions related to the passage they find the toughest. There is negative marking in CAT so candidates must ensure that they mark only the correct options or do not mark any option at all.

Q:   Is solving XAT question paper helpful in exam preparation?
A:

Yes, solving XAT question paper is of immense help in exam preparation as one can get an idea of the exam pattern, difficulty level of the questions, and learn time management. The XAT question papers of previous years also give you an idea of what type of questions (Reading Comprehension passages and poem) are asked in XAT. In fact, preparation of Decision Making section is totally dependent on XAT question papers. XAT question papers of previous years also act as practice test providing you with the opportunity to master speed and time management.

Candidates must solve previous years’ XAT questions paper of at least last five years, so that they are aware of the latest type of questions especially poem, RC passages and Decision Making passages.

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 2025

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 2025 exam::

MAT_Mock_Test_1

MAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions

MAT_Mock_Test_2

MAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

Read More:

Q:   How many questions to attempt in MAT?
A:

There are a total of 150 questions in MAT. Each of the five sections having 30 questions of easy to moderate difficulty level. It is not mandatory to solve all the 150 questions. Candidates should however aim to solve about 90-100 questions to get a good MAT score and percentile. Attempting 120 plus questions with full accuracy can get them above 98-99 percentile.

Q:   Is the question paper of MAT IBT different from MAT CBT or PBT?
A:
No, the question paper of MAT IBT is not different from MAT CBT or PBT. The test pattern, time duration, question type and marking scheme are the same for all three modes. Candidates can choose to appear for any exam mode with the worry of doing exam specific preparation. The only difference between MAT IBT and MAT CBT or PBT is that MAT IBT is a remote proctored exam and can be taken from any location unlike MAT CBT or PBT which are held at designated exam centres. The MAT question paper of every session however is different. All the 200 questions of each question paper is unique. The difficulty level is the same- easy to moderate but since the questions are different from each other candidates can feel slight difference in the difficulty level. The questions for every session are chosen randomly so in one session the paper can be overall easy while in another session the exam can be slightly difficult.
Q:   How many questions are asked in GK section of CMAT?
A:
There are 20 questions from General Knowledge in CMAT. All the questions are in MCQ format. Four options are given for each question to choose the right answer from. The General Knowledge section of CMAT is usually of a higher difficulty level but as it is a memory based section, it can be completed in maximum 15 minutes. The questions pertain to static GK and Current Affairs. Topics included in CMAT GK section are business, politics, awards, inventions, Science and technology, sports, society, world, advertising, trade, books and authors, arts, entertainment, history, geography and politics. Candidates should attempt the GK section in the end as the main criteria for MBA are English Quantitative Aptitude Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. The candidate's main focus should be on getting maximum questions correct in these three sessions. GK can be handled at the end.
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About the Author
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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Vipra is a massive Breaking Bad fan. When not watching crime drama series, she spends time in updating the list of places she wants to visit and people she wants to meet, but she is happiest in the company of dogs. Read Full Bio