Skip to content

XAT

Evidence status: 🟢 official. The facts below were cross-checked against the official XAT 2026 exam pattern and syllabus guide on 2026-09-28. Always read the current notice before you apply or pay a fee.

XAT is XLRI's entrance, accepted by XLRI and many other business schools. Its decision-making section is unique.

At a glance
Conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur
Mode Computer-based, 180 minutes total (Part 1: 170 min, Part 2: 10 min), no sectional time limit

Official sources

Exam pattern

Part Section Questions
Part 1 (170 min) Decision Making 21
Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning 26
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation 28
Part 2 (10 min) General Knowledge 20

+1 correct, −0.25 wrong in Part 1. −0.10 for each unattempted question beyond 8 in Part 1. General Knowledge has no negative marking and does not count towards the percentile.

Syllabus

The XAT syllabus is divided into four sections:

  1. Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning: Reading comprehension (including poems and cartoons), critical and analytical reasoning, para-completion, jumbled sentences, vocabulary, analogies, idioms, phrases, grammar, and cloze tests.
  2. Decision Making: Ethical dilemmas in workplace situations, managerial caselets, business decision scenarios, and situations involving fairness, distribution, and prioritization.
  3. Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation:
    • Arithmetic: Percentages, Profit & Loss, Ratio & Proportion, Time & Work, Speed, Time & Distance.
    • Algebra: Equations, Functions, Progressions.
    • Geometry & Mensuration: Lines, Circles, Polygons, 3D Figures.
    • Modern Math: Probability, Permutations & Combinations.
    • Data Interpretation: Graphs, charts, and tables requiring insightful analysis.
  4. General Knowledge: Static GK (History, geography, business, economy) and Current Affairs (Indian economy, budget updates, international organizations, awards, books & authors, politics, science).

Source: XAT 2026 Syllabus & Exam Pattern Guide

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Build reading speed daily: long, dense editorials and essays.
  2. Quant and DI come from Class 8–10 arithmetic, algebra and geometry. Master the basics before the tricks.
  3. Take full mocks under the real time rules and analyse every one.
  4. Practise decision-making caselets from XAT's past papers. No other exam has them.

Free resources