CAT Question Papers 2025 – Candidates preparing for the CAT 2025 exam are recommended to solve previous year’ question papers for exam preparation.
This exercise will help you understand the CAT exam pattern, question type, how these questions are presented, specific questions asked, important topics, difficulty level, etc.
Now these insights can be very useful when making an exam preparation strategy for CAT 2025. For instance, the difficulty level of topics can help you decide whether you need coaching or whether self-study is sufficient. If you decide to go for self-study, you will need a more robust exam-preparation plan, including selecting the best books for CAT.
The previous years’ CAT question paper banks can be bought online from portals like Amazon, Flipkart, etc. Or, you can download them for free from coaching and counseling portals.
To prepare for CAT 2025, it is recommended that you solve at least a dozen sample papers along with previous years CAT question papers.
Table of Contents
Why Downloading CAT Question Papers is Important?
Solving previous years’ CAT question papers helps in:
- Understanding Exam Pattern – CAT has varying structures (number of questions, sections, and time limits).
- Identifying Important Topics – Some concepts (e.g., Arithmetic, RCs, DI-LR puzzles) appear frequently.
- Improving Time Management – CAT is a speed-based test; practicing with real papers enhances speed.
- Adapting to Difficulty Levels – CAT’s toughness varies yearly (e.g., 2020 was moderate, 2023 was tougher in QA).
- Boosting Confidence – Familiarity with question types reduces exam-day anxiety.
Official Sources for CAT Previous Year Papers
A. IIM Official Website
The conducting IIM sometimes releases sample papers.
CAT official exam portal: https://iimcat.ac.in
B. CAT Prep Books by IIM Alumni
- Books like “CAT Previous Year Papers” by Arun Sharma compile official questions.
- Available on Amazon, Flipkart.
C. Coaching Institute Websites
- TIME, Career Launcher, IMS provide free and paid CAT papers.
- Example: TIME CAT Portal
Unofficial but Reliable Websites for CAT Papers
| Website | Features | Link |
| Pagalguy | Free PDFs (2010-2023) | Pagalguy CAT Papers |
| Cracku | Section-wise PDFs + Video Solutions | Cracku.in |
| MBA Universe | Year-wise papers with answer keys | MBAUniverse.com |
| InsideIIM | CAT Papers + Analysis | InsideIIM.com |
Caution: Avoid random Google downloads—some sites have incorrect answers.
Decoding Recent CAT Papers (2020-2023)
| Section | Exam Analysis |
| Quantitative Ability | 2023: 8 Algebra, 5 Arithmetic, 4 Geometry questions 2022: Increased focus on Modern Math (P&C, Probability) 2021: Surprise questions from Number Systems |
| VARC | RC passages increased from 16 to 18 questions (2021-23) Critical reasoning questions reduced by 40% |
| DILR | Data Interpretation now combines: 2 traditional sets (tables/graphs) 2 logical reasoning caselets |
CAT Question Paper 2025 – FAQs
Q: Are 10-year-old papers relevant?
A: You can use old papers for concept practice, but maybe not for pattern analysis.
Q: How many papers should I solve?
A: It is recommended to solve around 15 question papers; also, it can be a combination of old and new patterns (5 old patterns + 10 new patterns).
Q: Best time to start solving papers?
A: You can start solving sample- and previous years’ papers at any stage of the exam. However, in the early stages, you will only be able to solve only a few questions.