Updated on Jul 30, 2025
Amrita Das
GATE 2026 Best Books: The GATE 2026 Exam will be conducted by IIT Guwahati in February 2026. The exam will be conducted for admission to postgraduate and doctoral programs in engineering, technology, architecture, and science. It will include 30+ papers, each based on specific disciplines like CS, ME, EE, EC, AE, MA, and more. The GATE 2026 Syllabus includes three key sections, namely, General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and Core Subject-specific topics. Some of the most important topics across branches include Digital Logic, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Network Theory, Control Systems, Linear Algebra, and Signals & Systems. For effective preparation, candidates must follow a combination of standard textbooks and GATE-specific guides. Popular books include Computer Networks by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Digital Logic by Morris Mano, Engineering Mechanics by R.S. Khurmi, Signals and Systems by Oppenheim, and Higher Engineering Mathematics by B.S. Grewal. Read further to know more about the GATE 2026 Best Books.
- GATE 2026 Exam Dates
- GATE 2026 Computer Science (CS) Books
- GATE 2026 Life Science (XL) Books
- GATE 2026 Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA) Books
- GATE 2026 Civil Engineering (CE) Books
- GATE 2026 Mechanical Engineering (CE) Books
- GATE 2026 Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) Books
- GATE 2026 Electrical Engineering (EE) Books
- GATE 2026 Aerospace Engineering (AE) Books
- GATE 2026 Best Books FAQs
GATE 2026 Exam Dates
The official GATE 2026 Exam Dates are yet to be announced. IIT Guwahati will be releasing the exam dates of GATE 2026 along with the information brochure. The registration is expected to begin in August 2025. Check the following table for the tentative schedule of GATE 2026 Exam Dates.
Event | Tentative Dates |
GATE 2026 Application Form (without late fees) | August 2025 - September 2025 |
GATE 2026 Registration with Late Fees | October 2025 |
GATE 2026 Application Form Correction Starts | October 2025 |
Last Date for GATE 2026 Application Correction | November 20, 2025 |
GATE 2026 Admit Card Release | January 07, 2026 |
GATE 2026 Exam Dates | February 2026 |
GATE 2026 Result Declaration | March 2026 |
GATE 2026 Scorecard Availability | March 2026 - June 2026 |
GATE 2026 Computer Science (CS) Books
The GATE 2026 Computer Science includes sections like digital logic, Computer organisation and architecture, programming and data structure, algorithms, compiler design, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for CS of GATE 2026.
Section | Topic | Author | Books |
Digital Logic | Boolean algebra and Combinational and sequential circuits | M. Morris Mano | Digital logic and computer design |
R.P Jain | Modern digital electronics | ||
Computer Organisation and Architecture | Machine instructions
ALU
Memory hierarchy
I/O interface | William Stallings | Computer Organization and Architecture |
Carl Hamacher | Computer organization | ||
Programming and Data Structures | Programming in C | Dennis M.Ritchie | The C programming language |
Herbert Schildt | C: The complete reference | ||
Data Structure | Sartaj Sahni | Fundamentals of data structure | |
Narasimha Karumanchi | Data structures and algorithms MADE EASY | ||
Algorithms | Algorithm design techniques
Dynamic programming | Thomas H.Cormen | Introduction to algorithms |
Rajasekaran, Sahni, Horowitz | Fundamentals of computer algorithms | ||
Theory of Computation | Regular expressions and finite automata
Turing machines and undecidability | Peter Linz | An introduction to formal languages and automata |
John E Hopcroft, Jeffrey D. Ullman | Automata theory, languages and computation | ||
Compiler Design | Lexical & liveness analysis
Intermediate code generation | Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman | Compilers' principles, techniques and tools |
Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman | Principles of Compiler Design | ||
Databases | ER-model
Relational model
SQL | Henry Korth | Database System Concepts |
Elmasri Navathe | Fundamentals of database system | ||
Computer Networks | Concept of layering
Fragmentation and IP addressing | Behrouz A. Forouzon | Data communication and networking |
Andrew S. Tanenbaum,
David J. Wetherall | Computer networks |
GATE 2026 Life Science (XL) Books
The GATE 2026 Life Science includes sections like atomic structure and periodicity, structure and bonding, chemical equilibrium, electrochemistry, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for XL of GATE 2026.
Section | Topic | Author | Books |
Atomic Structure and Periodicity | Atomic models
Periodic Tables & properties | J. E. Huheey | Inorganic Chemistry |
J. D. Lee | Concise Inorganic Chemistry | ||
Structure and Bonding | Chemical bonding
Bonding theories and other properties | J. D. Lee | Concise Inorganic Chemistry |
Meissler & Tarr | Inorganic Chemistry | ||
s, p and d Block Elements | Oxides, halides and hydrides of alkali, alkaline earth metals | J. D. Lee | Concise Inorganic Chemistry |
Chemical Equilibria | Conditions for Chemical Equilibrium and effects | Richard Mishel | Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis |
Keith J Laidler | Chemical Kinetics | ||
Electrochemistry | Electrochemistry | Samuel Glasstone | An Introduction to Electrochemistry |
K L Kapoor | A Textbook of Physical Chemistry (3rd Vol) | ||
Reaction Kinetics | Order of reaction
Catalyst
Enzyme reactions | – K. L. Kapoor | A Textbook of Physical Chemistry (5th Vol) |
Richard Mishel | Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis | ||
Thermodynamics | Fundamental concepts
Laws of Thermodynamics | Thomas Engel & Philip Reid | Physical Chemistry |
K L Kapoor | A Textbook of Physical Chemistry (2nd Vol) | ||
Structure-Reactivity Correlations and Organic Reaction Mechanisms | Acids and bases
Stereochemistry
Other concepts | E. L. Eliel | Stereochemistry of Organic
Compounds |
Clayden, Greeves, Warren and Wothers | Organic Chemistry | ||
Chemistry of Biomolecules | Amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids and nucleotides
Lipids, DNA, and more | Stuart Warren | Organic Synthesis the disconnection approach |
William Carruthers, Iain Coldham | Modern Methods of Organic Synthesis |
GATE 2026 Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA) Books
The GATE 2026 Data Science and Artificial Intelligence includes sections like programming, data structures and algorithms, database management and warehousing, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for DA of GATE 2026.
Section | Topic | Author | Books |
Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms | Basic data structures
Search algorithms
Graph algorithms theory | Horowitz & Sahani. | Fundamentals of Data Structures in |
Debasis Samanta | Classic Data Structures | ||
Programming in Python | John M Zelle | Python Programming – An Introduction to Computer Science | |
Database Management and Warehousing | ER-model
SQL
Data types and transformation
Data warehouse modelling | Raghu Ramakrishnan. | Database Management Systems |
Navathe | Fundamentals of Database System | ||
Korth and Sudarshan | Database System Concepts | ||
Machine Learning | Supervised Learning
Unsupervised Learning | Marc Peter Deisenreth, A. Alde Faisal | Mathematics for Machine Learning |
Aurélien Géron | Hands-on Machine Learning with Scikit- Learn, Keras & TensorFlow | ||
Kevin Murphy | Machine Learning: A Probabilistic Perspective | ||
Christopher Bishop | Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning | ||
Artificial Intelligence | Search & Logic
Reasoning under uncertainty topics
Approximate inference through sampling | Denis Rothman | Artificial Intelligence by Example |
Tom Taulli | Artificial Intelligence Basics | ||
Stuart Russell & Peter Norvig | Artificial Intelligence |
GATE 2026 Civil Engineering (CE) Books
The GATE 2026 Civil Engineering includes sections like structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, geomatics engineering, environmental engineering, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for CE of GATE 2026.
Section | Topic | Author | Book |
Structural Engineering. | Structural Analysis | RC Hibbler | Structural Analysis |
CS Reddy | Basic Structural Analysis | ||
Construction Materials and Management | K.N. Jha | Construction Project Management | |
B. C. Punamia | Construction Planning Management | ||
Concrete Structures | A. K. Jain & S N Sinha | RCC. Design | |
Pillai & D. Menon | Reinforced Concrete Design | ||
NK Raju | Prestressed Concrete | ||
Steel Structures | SK Duggal | Design Of Steel Structures | |
Solid Mechanics | BC Punamia | Strength of Materials | |
S.B. Junnarkar
Dr. H.J. Shah | Mechanics of Structure | ||
Geotechnical Engineering | Soil Mechanics
Foundation Engineering | Gopal Ranjan
ASR Rao | Basic and Applied Soil Mechanics |
S. K. Garg | Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engineering | ||
KR Arora | Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engineering | ||
Geomatics Engineering | Surveying, leveling & photogrammetry | BC Punamia | Surveying (vol. I & II) |
SK Duggal | Surveying (vol. I & II) | ||
Water Resources Engineering | Fluid Mechanics & Hydraulics | RK Bansal | Fluid Mechanics & Hydraulic Machines |
K Subramanyam | Fluid Mechanics & Fluid Machines | ||
Dr. P.N. Modi & Dr. S.M Seth | Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics | ||
Hydrology | K. Subramanya | Hydrology | |
Irrigation engineering | Dr. PN Modi | Irrigation Water Resources and Waterpower Engineering | |
S. K. Garg | Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulic Structures | ||
Environmental Engineering | Water and Wastewater Quality and Treatment
Air Pollution
Municipal Solid Wastes | S. K. Garg | Environmental Engineering (vol. I & II) |
BC Punamia | Environmental Engineering (vol. I & II) | ||
Peavy & Rowe | Environmental Engineering | ||
Transportation Engineering | Transportation Infrastructure | S.C. Saxena & S.P. Arora | Railway Engineering |
S. K. Khanna & M. G. Arora | Airport Engineering | ||
Highway Pavements
Traffic Engineering | Khanna & Justo | Highway Engineering | |
L.R. Kadiyali. | Highway Engineering | ||
S. K. Sharma | Highway Engineering |
GATE 2026 Mechanical Engineering (CE) Books
The GATE 2026 Mechanical Engineering includes sections like applied mathematics and design, fluid mechanics, thermal sciences, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for ME of GATE 2026.
Section | Topics | Author | Book |
Applied Mechanics and Design | Engineering Mechanics | S S Bhavikatti | Engineering Mechanics- New Age International |
Daniel Kleppner and Robert Kolenkow | An Introduction to Mechanics | ||
Mechanics of Materials | Timoshenko & Gere | Strength of Materials | |
RC Hibbeler | Mechanics of Materials | ||
Theory of Machines | SS Ratan | The Theory of Machines | |
Vibrations | G K Grover | Mechanical Vibrations | |
Machine Design | VB Bhandari | Designs of Machine elements | |
Fluid Mechanics | Fluid Mechanics | RK Bansal | A Textbook of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machines |
Frank White | Fluid Mechanics | ||
K Subramanya | 1000 Solved Problems in Fluid Mechanics | ||
Thermal sciences | Heat Transfer | JP Holman & S Bhattacharyya | Heat & Mass Transfer |
Thermodynamics | P.K. Nag | Engineering Thermodynamics | |
Yunus A. Cengel, Michael A. Boles | Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach | ||
Applications of Thermodynamics | C.P. ARORA | Refrigeration & Air Conditioning | |
V. Ganesan | Internal Combustion Engines | ||
P.K. Nag | Power Plant Engineering | ||
Materials, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering | Engineering Materials
Casting, Forming and Joining Processes | OP Khanna | Material Science and Metallurgy |
R. Balasubramaniam | Callister's Materials Science and Engineering | ||
Machining and Machine Tool Operations
Metrology and Inspection
Computer Integrated Manufacturing
Production Planning and Control
Inventory Control
Operations Research | O. P. Khanna | Industrial Engineering and Management | |
S. K. Sharma
Savita Sharma | Industrial Engineering and Organization Management | ||
Telsang Martand | Industrial Engineering and Production Management |
GATE 2026 Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) Books
The GATE 2026 Electronics and Communication Engineering includes sections like networks, signals and systems, electronic devices, analog circuits, digital circuits, control systems, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for ECE of GATE 2026.
Section | Topic | Author | Books |
Networks, Signals and Systems | Circuit Analysis
Continuous-time Signals
Discrete-time Signals | Charles K. Alexander & Matthew N.O. Sadiku | Fundamentals of Electric Circuits |
William H. Hayt | Engineering Circuit Analysis | ||
Mac Van Valkenburg | Network Analysis | ||
Electronic Devices | Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors
Carrier Transport
P-N junction | Donald A Neaman & Dhrubes Biswas | Semiconductor Physics and Devices |
Ben G. Streetman and Sanjay Banerjee | Solid State Electronic Devices | ||
S. M. Sze | Semiconductor Devices | ||
Analog Circuits | Diode Circuits
BJT and MOSFET Amplifiers
Op-amp Circuits | Jacob Millman Christos C Halkias | Integrated Electronics |
Robert L. Boylestad Louis Nashelsky | Electronic Devices and Circuit | ||
Sedra & Smith | Micro Electronics circuit | ||
Digital Circuits | Number Representations
Sequential Circuits
Data Converters
Semiconductor Memories
Computer Organization | Ronald J. Toccii | Digital Electronic Principles and Applications |
M Morris Mano | Digital Logic and Computer Design | ||
R.P. Jain | Modern Digital Electronics | ||
Control Systems | Feedback principle
Linear time-invariant systems
Nyquist and Bode Plots
P, PI & PID controllers
Routh Hurwitz Criteria | I.J. Nagrath, M. Gopal | Control Systems Engineering |
B.C. kuo, Farid Golnaraghi | Automatic Control Systems | ||
Katsuhiko Dgata | Modern Control Engineering | ||
BP Lath | Principles of linear system and signals | ||
Communications | Random Processes
Analog Communications
Information Theory
Digital Communications | Simon Haykin | Analog and Digital Communication Systems |
Taub& Schillings | Principle of Communication System | ||
BP Lathi | Modern digital and analog Communications system | ||
Electromagnetics | Maxwell's Equations
Plane Waves and Properties
Transmission Lines | Matthew N.D. Sadiku &
S.V. Kulkarni | Principles of Electromagnetics |
Matthew N.O. Sadiku | Elements of Electromagnetics | ||
William Hayt | Engineering Electromagnetics |
GATE 2026 Electrical Engineering (EE) Books
The GATE 2026 Electrical Engineering includes sections like Electric Circuits, Electromagnetic Fields, Signals and Systems, Electrical Machines, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for EE of GATE 2026.
Section | Topics | Author | Book |
Electric circuits | Network Elements
DC and AC networks | Charles. K. Alexander | Fundamentals of Electric Circuits |
WH Hayt, SM Durbin | Engineering Circuit Analysis | ||
Abhijit Chakraborti | Circuit Theory: Analysis & Synthesis | ||
Electromagnetic Fields | Electromagnetism
EM Waves
Induction | W H Hayt, John A Buck | Engineering Electromagnetics |
Edward C. Jordan, Keith G. Balmain | Electromagnetic waves and Radiating Systems | ||
Signals and Systems | LTI Systems
Z-Transform and Laplace Transform
Fourier Representation of Signals | Oppenheim Alan V, W Alan, NS Hamid | Signals And Systems |
A. Anand Kumar | Signals and Systems | ||
Simon Haykin, Barry Van Veen | Signals and Systems | ||
Electrical Machines | Transformer
AC-DC Machines
Motors | Stephen J. Chapman | Electric Machinery fundamentals |
P.S. Bimbhra | Electric Machinery | ||
Fitzgerald and Kingsley | Electric Machinery | ||
Power Systems | Power Generation Concepts
Load Flow Methods, Bus Impedance and
Admittance Matrices
Symmetrical and unsymmetrical fault analysis
System stability concepts | William D Stevenson | Elements of Power System Analysis |
C.L. Wadhwa | Electrical Power Systems | ||
Ashfaq Hussian | Electrical Power Systems by | ||
D.P. Kothari and J. Nagrath | Power System Engineering | ||
Control Systems | Feedback principle
Linear time-invariant systems
Nyquist and Bode Plots
P, PI & PID controllers
Routh Hurwitz Criteria | I.J. Nagrath, M. Gopal | Control Systems Engineering |
B.C. kuo, Farid Golnaraghi | Automatic Control Systems | ||
Katsuhiko Dgata | Modern Control Engineering | ||
BP Lath | Principles of linear system and signals | ||
Electrical and Electronic Measurements | Bridges and Potentiometers
Measurement | AK Shawhey | Electrical and Electronic Measurements and Instrumentation |
AD Helfrick
William D. Cooper | Modern Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement Technique | ||
Analog and Digital Electronics | Amplifiers: characteristics and applications
Boolean Algebra and K-Map
A/D and D/A converters
Combinatorial and sequential logic circuits | Jacob Millman Christos C Halkias | Integrated Electronics |
M Morris Mano | Digital Logic and Computer Design | ||
Robert L. Boylestad Louis Nashelsky | Electronic Devices and Circuit | ||
Power Electronics | Characteristics of Semiconductor Devices
Rectifiers
Principles of Choppers
Principles of Inverters | P.S. Bimbhra | Power Electronics |
Muhammad H. Rashid | Devices, Circuits and applications |
GATE 2026 Aerospace Engineering (AE) Books
The GATE 2026 Aerospace Engineering includes sections like Aerodynamics, Flight Mechanics, Propulsion, Structures, etc. Check out the table below for the best books for AE of GATE 2026.
Section | Topics | Book | Author |
Aerodynamics | Basic Fluid Mechanics
Measurement and Visualisation Techniques
Compressible Flows | Fundamentals of Aerodynamics | John D. Anderson, Jr |
Aerodynamics of Engineering Students | E.L Houghton, P.W. Carpenter | ||
Gas Dynamics | E. Rathakrishnan | ||
Flight Mechanics | Airplane performance
Static Stability | Aircraft Performance and Design | John D. Anderson, Jr |
Introduction to Flight | John D. Anderson, Jr | ||
Airplane Performance, Stability, and Control | Perkins and Hage | ||
Propulsion | Turbomachinery
Axial Turbines
Aerothermodynamics of aircraft engines | Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion | Hill & Peterson |
Gas Turbines | V Ganesan | ||
Elements of Rocket Propulsion | George P. Sutton | ||
Engineering Mathematics | Linear Algebra
Calculus
Differential Equations
Complex Analysis | Advanced Engineering Mathematics | Erwin Kreyszig |
Advanced Engineering Mathematics | HK Dass | ||
Advanced Engineering Mathematics | RK Jain, SRK Iyengar | ||
Structures | Strength of Materials
Structural Dynamics | A Textbook of Strength of Materials | RK Bansal |
Strength of Materials | Stephen Timonshenko | ||
Aircraft Structures for Engineering Students | THG Megson |
GATE 2026 Best Books FAQs
What are the best books for GATE 2026 preparation?
The best books for GATE 2026 preparation include subject-wise standard textbooks and GATE-focused guides. For example, Engineering Mathematics by B.S. Grewal and Digital Logic by Morris Mano are highly recommended. These books provide both theory and practice for strong preparation.
Which book is best for the GATE 2026 General Aptitude section?
For the General Aptitude section of GATE 2026, candidates can refer to A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal. It covers all verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative topics in detail. Additionally, Quantitative Aptitude by Arun Sharma is useful for numerical ability.
Are previous year question papers important for GATE 2026 preparation?
Yes, solving previous year question papers is very important for GATE 2026 preparation. It helps in understanding the exam pattern, types of questions, and difficulty level. Books like GATE 30 Years Chapter-Wise Solved Papers by Made Easy are recommended.
Is one book enough for each subject in GATE 2026?
One book is usually not enough for complete GATE 2026 preparation. It is better to study from a standard textbook for concepts and a GATE-specific book for practice.
Which books are best for GATE 2026 Mechanical Engineering (ME)?
Some of the best books for GATE 2026 Mechanical Engineering are Engineering Thermodynamics by P.K. Nag, Strength of Materials by R.K. Rajput, and Theory of Machines by R.S. Khurmi. These books explain concepts clearly and provide solved problems. Candidates should also refer to GATE-specific books like Made Easy or Ace Academy series.
What are the top books for GATE 2026 Computer Science (CS)?
Top books for GATE 2026 CS include Computer Networks by Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Operating System Concepts by Silberschatz, and Theory of Computation by Ullman. These books are considered essential for building strong fundamentals. For practice, candidates can use GATE guides by Arihant or Made Easy.
Which book should I use for GATE 2026 Engineering Mathematics?
Higher Engineering Mathematics by B.S. Grewal is the most popular book for GATE 2026 Engineering Mathematics. It covers all major topics with theory and solved problems. Other helpful books include Advanced Engineering Mathematics by Erwin Kreyszig.
Where can I buy the best books for the GATE 2026 exam?
Candidates can buy the best books for GATE 2026 from online platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and publisher websites. Physical bookstores and coaching centers also provide GATE preparation books.
How would you rate your experience with this page up to now?
