Best books for GATE Mechanical Engineering (ME) 2026: GATE ME aspirants must be familiar with the best books while preparing for the GATE 2026 Mechanical Engineering paper. Candidates can find the GATE ME 2026 best books list in the article below. The GATE 2026 exam dates for Mechanical Engineering will be conducted on February 14, 2026. The GATE preparation requires thorough scheduling of the syllabus. The GATE 2026 ME Syllabus contains all the topics that candidates need to prepare for the GATE exam. Hence, candidates must now be familiar with the GATE 2026 best books for Mechanical Engineering. The GATE 2026 exam will be conducted in online mode. There are various best GATE mechanical engineering books in 2026, suggested below for several topics asked in the entrance exam, that can help students prepare well for those specific topics.
The GATE 2026 exam sectional papers are listed below
XE Paper Sections | Code | XH Paper Sections | Code | XL Paper Sections | Code |
Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory) (15 marks) | A | Reasoning and Comprehension (Compulsory) (25 marks) | B1 | Chemistry (Compulsory) (25 marks) | P |
Any TWO optional Sections (2x35 = 70 marks) | Any ONE optional Section (60 marks) | Any TWO optional Sections (2x30 = 60 marks) | |||
Fluid Mechanics | B | Economics | C1 | Biochemistry | Q |
Materials Science | C | English | C2 | Botany | R |
Solid Mechanics | D | Linguistics | C3 | Microbiology | S |
Thermodynamics | E | Philosophy | C4 | Zoology | T |
Polymer Science and Engineering | F | Psychology | C5 | Food Technology | U |
Food Technology | G | Sociology | C6 | ||
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | H | ||||
Energy Science (Newly Introduced) | I |
Best Books for GATE Mechanical Engineering 2026
Topics Covered | Name of the Book | Author |
Thermodynamics | Engineering Thermodynamics | P K Nag |
Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach | Yunus A Cengel | |
Manufacturing | Production Technology: Manufacturing Processes, Technology and Automation | R K Jain |
Material Science | Material Science and Metallurgy | U C Jindal |
Industrial Engineering | Industrial Engineering and Management | O P Khanna |
Heat Transfer | Fundamentals of Engineering Heat and Mass Transfer | R C Sachdeva |
Machine Theory | The Theory of Machines | S S Ratan |
Engineering Mechanics | Engineering Mechanics- New Age International | S S Bhavikatti |
Higher engineering mathematics | B S Grewal | |
Vibrations | Mechanical Vibrations | G K Grover |
Material Strength | Strength of Materials | James M Gere, Stephen P Timoshenko |
Aptitude | A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning | R S Aggarwal |
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Candidates who are going to prepare for the Graduate Aptitude Test of Engineering 2026 with the help of the best books for GATE ME should always keep the GATE syllabus handy. This will ensure that no topics are left out while preparing. Knowing the GATE 2026 syllabus also helps avoid the topics that are not necessary for the GATE exam. While preparing the study plan, candidates must keep referring to the syllabus to analayse the strong and the weak topics.
Candidates who wish to prepare well for the examination should also practice the GATE 2026 sample papers and previous year question papers, apart from the best books. Hence, candidates can find the previous year's question papers below.
Year | GATE ME Sample Paper Session 1 | GATE ME Sample Paper Session 2 |
| 2021 | ||
2019 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can check your GATE exam date and centre by downloading your admit card from the official GATE portal before the exam. However, the GATE 2026 ME exam will be held on February 14, 2026.
Students should analyze the syllabus well and appear for Mock test with available sample practice materials and rigorous preparation.
The GATE 2026 admit card will be available approximately two weeks before the exam date. You can download it from the official website.
A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S Agarwal is considered the best for GATE aptitude preparation.
You can refer to Production Technology: Manufacturing Processes, Technology and Automation by R K Jain.
On Question asked by student community
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No you cannot get admission to IIT for M Tech if your B Tech is not completed at the time of admission, even if you clear the GATE cutoff but Yes, you can appear for GATE 2028 in your 3rd year of B Tech even if your degree is
Hello,
The link to the question paper is attached here. You can access the question papers along with the answer key on the careers360 website. Careers360 also provides students with preparation tips that will help them in preparing and the mock test and analyse their in-depth performance.
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/last-15-years-gate-papers-solutions
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Here is a link for the sample papers for GATE Exam with DA subjects. Tap on the link given below to open it:
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Hello aspirant,
If you missed the correction window for GATE 2026, the portal will not allow changes right now. Usually, IIT opens a correction period only once. Since you need to change your surname, the best option is to contact the GATE organizing institute through their official support email or
Hi Aanchal,
Balancing Engineering semester exams with competitive exam preparation can feel confusing but with right and realistic routine makes it very achievable.
Start by dividing your day into two parts: use college hours and afternoons for semester prep and keep early mornings or late evenings for GATE prep.
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