68 questions, three sections, 40 minutes each. What is in each section, and why the sectional limit matters more than the syllabus.
CAT 2026 has 68 questions across three sections with a 40-minute sectional limit each and a two-hour total duration. VARC has 24 questions, DILR has 22, and QA has 22. There is no change to the pattern or syllabus this year — the last structural change was in 2024, when the total moved from 66 to 68 questions and DILR went from 20 to 22.
Reading comprehension dominates, plus parajumbles, para-completion, odd-sentence-out and para-summary.
Tables, charts and graphs alongside logical reasoning sets — arrangements, coding, relations, calendars.
Arithmetic carries the most weight, then algebra, geometry and mensuration, number system and modern maths.
You cannot move between sections. Forty minutes is locked per section, so time you don't use in one is simply lost. This is why untimed practice misleads people: the exam tests triage — deciding fast which questions to attempt and which to leave — more than it tests knowing everything.
Every year prep content claims major structural changes. There are none for 2026. Verify anything you read against the official notification at iimcat.ac.in before restructuring your preparation around it.
Knowing the pattern is the easy part. Turning it into a plan is covered in how to prepare for CAT 2026, and translating a score into a realistic college list is in CAT percentile vs college.
Verified Real Ones who sat this exam. No commission from any college.
Find a Real One