CAT Previous Year Question Papers with answer key are available for free PDF download here on aglasem. You can download slot-wise CAT question papers from 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 – each containing the actual questions asked in the Common Admission Test (CAT) along with the correct answers. Solving these CAT previous year question papers is one of the most effective ways to understand the exam pattern, practise real questions, and improve your speed, accuracy, and percentile in the upcoming CAT exam.
Latest: Download the CAT 2025 Question Paper with Answer Key (all 3 slots), conducted by IIM Kozhikode. Older CAT papers are linked in the table below.
CAT Previous Year Question Papers (2025 to 2017)
The Common Admission Test is a national-level MBA entrance exam for admission to MBA, PGP, and PGDM programmes at the IIMs and other top B-schools in India that accept CAT scores. The year-wise CAT question papers with answer key, along with the conducting IIM for each year, are given below.
| CAT Exam Year | Conducting IIM | Question Paper (PDF) |
|---|---|---|
| CAT 2025 | IIM Kozhikode | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2024 | IIM Calcutta | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2023 | IIM Lucknow | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2022 | IIM Bangalore | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2021 | IIM Ahmedabad | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2020 | IIM Indore | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2019 | IIM Kozhikode | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2018 | IIM Calcutta | Download Question Paper |
| CAT 2017 | IIM Lucknow | Download Question Paper |
CAT Exam Pattern – Quick Facts
Before solving the CAT previous year question papers, understand the CAT exam pattern. The key facts of the Common Admission Test are summarised below.
| Exam Mode | Computer-Based Test (CBT) |
| Duration | 2 hours (120 minutes) |
| Sections | VARC, DILR, QA |
| Total Questions | Around 66 (recent years) |
| Marking Scheme | +3 for correct, -1 for wrong MCQ; no negative marking for non-MCQ (TITA) |
| Number of Slots | 3 (recent years) |
| Conducting Body | Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), on rotation |
| Official Website | iimcat.ac.in |
CAT Previous Year Question Papers – An Overview
| Name of Exam | CAT |
| Full Form of CAT | Common Admission Test |
| Type of Exam | MBA Entrance Exams |
| Conducting Body | Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) |
| Papers Available | CAT 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 |
| Question Papers For These Courses | MBA, PGP, PGDM |
| Study Material | Previous Year Question Papers |
| Official Website | iimcat.ac.in |
| Level of Exam | National Level |
CAT Previous Year Question Paper with Answer Key
The CAT previous year question papers with answers contain the questions asked in the exam along with their correct answers. After solving a paper, check your responses against the answer key to know how many you got right, calculate your expected score, and identify the topics you need to revise. This makes the CAT answer key an essential self-assessment tool during preparation.
CAT Previous Year Question Paper with Solutions
The solved CAT question papers provide step-by-step solutions to the questions. They help you learn the correct approach and shortcuts, especially for the Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning sections. You can also refer to a Last 10 Years CAT Previous Year Question Papers book for complete solutions of older papers.
How to Download CAT Previous Year Question Papers?
- Find the CAT exam year you want in the table above.
- Click the download link to open that year page on aglasem.
- Choose the slot (Slot 1, 2, or 3) and open its question paper with answer key PDF.
- Read online, or download and save the PDF to solve it offline anytime.
Benefits of Solving CAT Previous Year Question Papers
- Understand the real CAT exam pattern, section-wise weightage, and question types.
- Gauge the difficulty level of VARC, DILR, and QA over the years.
- Practise time management by attempting each slot in the 2-hour limit.
- Identify frequently tested topics and your weak areas to plan revision.
- Track improvement in speed and accuracy with repeated practice.
CAT Previous Year Question Papers FAQs
You can download CAT previous year question papers with answer key for free as PDF on aglasem. Papers from CAT 2025 back to CAT 2017 are available slot-wise, and the official papers are also released on iimcat.ac.in.
Yes. The CAT question papers on this page include the answer key with correct answers. You can use them to self-evaluate, calculate your expected score, and review detailed solutions for practice.
CAT previous year question papers for the last several years are available here – CAT 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 – each with slot-wise PDFs.
No. CAT is held in multiple slots (three slots in recent years), and each slot has a different question paper of similar difficulty. Scores are normalised across slots to ensure fairness.
CAT is conducted by the IIMs on a rotational basis. CAT 2025 is by IIM Kozhikode, CAT 2024 was by IIM Calcutta, and CAT 2023 was by IIM Lucknow.
CAT is a two-hour computer-based test with three sections – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Recent papers have about 66 questions with plus 3 marks for a correct answer and minus 1 for a wrong MCQ answer, with no negative marking for non-MCQ (TITA) questions.
Solving CAT previous year question papers helps you understand the exam pattern, section-wise weightage, difficulty level, and time management. Regular practice with these papers improves speed and accuracy, which are key to scoring a high CAT percentile.
If you have any queries on CAT Previous Year Question Papers, then please ask in comments below.
