MAT syllabus 2026: the short answer
MAT has five sections: Language Comprehension, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, Data Analysis and Data Sufficiency, Mathematical Skills, and Economic and Business Environment. Each section has 30 questions. That makes 150 questions in 120 minutes.
Here is something many students do not know. AIMA does not publish a long, chapter-wise syllabus for MAT. The official pattern names the five sections, and the working topic list comes from what past papers have actually asked. That is what this guide gives you: the topics that keep appearing, section by section, so you know exactly what to study and what to skip.
The September session runs the Paper-Based Test on 13 September and the Computer-Based Test on 20 September. PBT registration closes 7 September, and CBT registration closes 14 September. Always confirm the exact dates on mat.aima.in before you plan, because AIMA can shift windows.
The five sections at a glance
| Section | Questions | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Language Comprehension | 30 | Reading, vocabulary, grammar |
| Intelligence and Critical Reasoning | 30 | Puzzles, logic, arguments |
| Data Analysis and Data Sufficiency | 30 | Charts, tables, calculation speed |
| Mathematical Skills | 30 | School-level maths, applied fast |
| Economic and Business Environment | 30 | Business and economy awareness |
1. Language Comprehension
Half of this section is reading comprehension. You get short passages with direct questions. The other half is standalone English questions. The topics that repeat are:
- Reading comprehension passages with fact-based and inference questions
- Synonyms, antonyms and vocabulary in context
- Fill in the blanks and sentence completion
- Para jumbles, where you arrange sentences in order
- Sentence correction and spotting grammar errors
- Idioms, phrases and one-word substitution
- Analogies, where you match word pairs
If your school English is decent, this section needs practice more than fresh study. One passage a day between now and the exam does more than a weekend of theory.
2. Intelligence and Critical Reasoning
This is the puzzle section. Nothing here needs formulas. Everything here needs method and calm. The regular topics are:
- Seating and linear arrangements
- Number and letter series
- Coding and decoding
- Blood relations and family trees
- Directions and distances
- Syllogisms, statements and conclusions, statements and assumptions
- Critical reasoning: strengthen, weaken and infer from short arguments
- Visual and analytical puzzles
Every topic here is learnable in a few sittings. The real skill is choosing which puzzle to attempt and which to leave, and that comes only from timed practice.
3. Data Analysis and Data Sufficiency
Very little in this section is hard as a concept. What fails students is speed. The data comes in these forms:
- Tables and caselets with percentages and totals
- Bar graphs, line graphs and pie charts
- Mixed charts, where one question uses two data sources
- Venn diagrams
- Data sufficiency: can the question be answered with the given statements
- Data comparison between quantities
Train mental maths every day. Ten minutes of percentage and fraction drills daily will lift this section more than any new book.
4. Mathematical Skills
The maths is school-level, mostly up to class 10 with a little class 11. The exam tests whether you can do it fast, not whether you know advanced theory. The core topics are:
- Number system, HCF and LCM
- Percentages, profit and loss, discount
- Ratio, proportion and partnership
- Averages and mixtures
- Simple and compound interest
- Time, speed and distance, plus time and work
- Linear and quadratic equations, basic algebra
- Geometry and mensuration basics
- Permutations, combinations and basic probability
Do not try to master all of it equally. Percentages, ratios and interest alone feed a large share of questions, and they also power the data section. Start there.
5. Economic and Business Environment
This is the awareness section. It moves with the news, so there is no fixed chapter list. Questions generally come from:
- Business news: companies, mergers, appointments
- The Indian economy: budget themes, banking, trade
- Static general knowledge: geography, history, awards, sports
- Important people and organisations
On recent MAT scorecards, the composite score out of 800 has been built from the first four sections, with this fifth section reported separately. Some colleges do look at it, so do not skip it fully — but do not let it eat time that belongs to the four scoring sections. Confirm how the current session treats it in the official bulletin on mat.aima.in.
Marking scheme: how the paper is scored
Every question carries one mark. Every wrong answer costs a quarter mark. Unattempted questions cost nothing. There is no separate time limit per section, so you are free to move between sections and pick easy marks first. If you want the full breakdown of timing and structure, read our MAT exam pattern guide with a worked time plan.
With three weeks left, study in this order
If you are writing the September paper, the syllabus above is too big to cover evenly now. So do not cover it evenly. Work in this order:
- First: percentages, ratios and interest in maths, plus daily chart practice. These two sections share the same muscle.
- Second: one reading passage and ten vocabulary or grammar questions a day.
- Third: two reasoning topics you find hardest, learned properly rather than all topics touched lightly.
- Last: fifteen minutes of business and economy reading a day. No more.
Then let mocks tell you where you stand. For how many minutes each section deserves on exam day, and where a 600 score actually comes from, see our section-wise MAT strategy for 2026.
Where to go next
If you want the whole syllabus taught live instead of self-study, our MAT online coaching runs live evening classes four days a week, with every class recorded, and e-books, mocks and mentorship included. For what past students have scored, our results page is here — including a MAT high of 771 out of 800, with 9 of 10 students crossing 600.
MAT books, e-books and mock tests
The MAT book set covers Logical, English, Mathematics and Data Interpretation, printed A4 and couriered across India. The e-book and the scored mock series are on the same store, so you can pick print, digital, or both.