Below are the CAT exam previous year papers with detailed solutions from CAT 2017-2025 for your practice.
CAT 2025 was considered moderate to tough in difficulty level. It was slightly on the tougher side when compared to CAT 2024, especially DILR, which was a make-or-break section in CAT 2025. Here is the CAT 2025 year question paper with solutions.
CAT 2024 is overall considered moderate in difficulty level. It was easier than the CAT 2023 but a little harder than 2022. Here is the CAT 2024 question paper with solutions.
CAT 2023 was considered moderate to difficult. It was tougher than both CAT 2022 and CAT 2024. The DILR section was the most challenging. Check out the CAT 2023 slotwise question paper with answers.
CAT 2022 was considered a balanced paper where slot 1 had a student-friendly QA. It was moderate to easy in terms of difficulty level. You can check out the CAT 2022 sectionwise PYQ here.
CAT Question paper 2021 was on the tougher side, with a difficult VARC in the 2nd slot and a complicated QA in 3rd slot. Here is the CAT 2021 PYQ with solutions.
CAT 2020 was comparatively easier than the recent CAT exams that were held. Due to COVID, the CAT exam was reduced to 120 minutes instead of 180, with only 76 questions (24 VARC, 26 QA, 26 DILR). Each section had 40 minutes. Here is Previous years CAT paper for 2020
The question paper for CAT exam 2019 was trickier than CAT 2018. CAT 2019 was a balanced yet challenging exam, with DILR as the toughest section and QA as the scoring one. Check out the CAT 2019 PYQs here.
CAT PYQ 2018 was more student-friendly because of its VARC and QA sections. DILR proved to be the challenge, hence the overall difficulty was considered moderate. Check out the CAT previous year paper with answers.
CAT 2017 was one of the toughest CAT exams in recent memory. Both DILR and QA were challenging, making it difficult for many test-takers to clear sectional cutoffs. Here is the CAT question paper for 2017 with solutions.
Solving CAT exam previous year question papers helps you get well-versed with the CAT exam pattern, build effective preparation strategies, and improve your time management skills for each section. Regular practice with CAT PYQs also makes you familiar with the actual exam interface and question style, so you can accurately gauge the difficulty level you'll face on test day, and pinpoint exactly which areas need more work before CAT 2026.
Follow these steps to attempt each CAT previous year paper online:
To crack the CAT, the most significant step is to practice from the previous year's CAT questions and test yourself, as the actual exam will be conducted in a computer-based format.
Also read: CAT 2026 Question Paper
Aim to solve at least the last 7 to 9 years of CAT previous year question papers before CAT 2026. Career Launcher has all nine papers from 2017 to 2025 on this page, with solutions for every slot. Start with the CAT last year question paper (CAT 2025), then work backwards through CAT 2024 and CAT 2023. These three reflect the current 68-question pattern and the current difficulty level.
Here is how many years to solve, depending on where you are:
CAT 2017 to 2019 had 100 questions in 180 minutes, and CAT 2020 had 76 questions in 120 minutes. Because of that, use the older CAT question papers mainly for concept and section-wise practice, and time yourself on the 120-minute pattern when you take them as full tests.
CAT Previous year question papers are extremely beneficial for aspirants preparing for CAT 2026. They are a necessary step in an aspirant's journey to get familiar with the exam pattern, but also to understand the trends and changes throughout the years.
CAT 2026 is scheduled on 29th November 2026, as per CAT official website iimcat.ac.in, so it is already hight time that aspirants should start solving CAT PYQs.
Actual CAT exam questions are different from mock tests, which can be either too easy or too challenging. The real exam focuses more on testing your logical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
CAT PYQs must be utilised by everyone attempting the CAT exam. It assesses the real standing of all the aspirants, be it working professionals, first-time CAT aspirants, repeaters, self-study candidates, and students struggling with accuracy.
Also Read: CAT full length mocks Vs sectional tests
With CAT 2026 on 29 November, work through the CAT previous year papers in this order:
Also read: Is Taking mocks at home making you overconfident?
CAT PYQs are beneficial for your preparation for CAT 2026 because they inform you about the exam pattern and help you develop an exam-taking strategy. We are listing some advantages of solving these CAT question papers:
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You can download year-wise, section-wise and slot-wise CAT previous year question papers with solutions in PDF at the Career Launcher website. Every CAT previous year question paper PDF comes with detailed written solutions and video solutions, so you can review your approach after each attempt.
Yes. Solving the CAT last year question paper is a crucial part of preparation. It familiarises you with the latest CAT exam pattern and difficulty level, and it shows which areas carry the most weight. Aspirants who regularly attempt the last year CAT paper also tend to manage time better on exam day.
The CAT PYQs from 2017 to 2025 are all on CL's CAT previous year questions page. Each slot has separate VARC, DILR and QA papers, so you can also practise the last year CAT paper one section at a time.
The best way is to solve each CAT exam previous year paper under real exam conditions. Set a timer, attempt one section at a time, and avoid distractions. Then analyse your CAT PYQs in detail to find your weaker areas and the questions where you lost time.
Yes. One of the biggest benefits of solving CAT PYQs is that you can see which topics are asked most often across VARC, DILR and QA. A CAT previous year paper PDF also gives you a preview of the question types, so you can prioritise high-weightage topics.
No, but they are essential. The CAT previous year question papers show you what the actual exam looks like and what it demands from you. For complete preparation, combine them with concept-building, topic-wise practice and regular mock tests.
Solve at least the last 5 to 10 years of CAT previous year papers before CAT 2026. Start with CAT 2025, 2024 and 2023, which reflect the current pattern, then use CAT 2017 to 2022 for extra practice. Working through several years of the CAT exam previous year question paper helps you spot patterns, identify areas of improvement and understand how the exam has evolved.
Yes, definitely. Practising the previous years' CAT paper shows you your weak areas so you can work on them. It builds confidence and can improve your sectional scores significantly, because you get used to the question types asked in the exam.
Yes. It has been observed that the CAT exam contains one or two questions that are repeated exactly or in a similar pattern from earlier years, especially in QA and DILR. That is why practising the CAT past year question paper is extremely important.
Yes. You can access CAT previous year question papers section-wise for free on the Career Launcher website, without any login. You can also download the CAT last year paper PDF for offline practice.
Beginners should start with the CAT 2021 or CAT 2022 question paper, as these are considered relatively balanced in difficulty. Once you are comfortable, move on to tougher papers like CAT 2023 and CAT 2025 to simulate exam-level pressure.
Yes. CAT previous year question papers are the actual questions asked in past CAT exams, while mock tests are practice papers designed by CAT experts to simulate the exam. A previous years' CAT paper gives you the most accurate sense of real CAT difficulty and question style, while mocks give you broader practice.
Yes. CAT previous year question papers are available section-wise for VARC, DILR and QA, along with slot-wise papers (Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3) for each year from 2017 to 2025. You can also get a question paper for CAT exam as a PDF, which lets you focus on one section at a time.
Yes. Along with detailed written solutions, the CAT previous year question papers on this page include video analysis by MBA experts. They break down the difficulty level and the approach for each slot.
CAT 2017 was one of the toughest CAT exams in recent memory. Among recent papers, CAT 2025 was moderate to tough and CAT 2023 was moderate to difficult, with DILR the most challenging section in both. CAT 2024 and CAT 2022 were easier. Attempt the tougher CAT PYQs once you are comfortable with the moderate ones.
Mark each question as correct, incorrect or unattempted, then note your accuracy and time per section. For every mistake, find the cause: a concept gap, a calculation error, misreading or time pressure. Re-solve the difficult CAT PYQs after revising the concept.