GATE CS Previous Years' Topic-wise Weightage; List of most important topics for 2026 aspirants

Candidates to appear for GATE CS 2026 exam should refer to the Previous Years' Topic-wise Weightage and the detailed list of most important topics for 2026 aspirants here.

GATE CS Previous Years' Topic-wise Weightage: The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2026 subject-by-subject test schedule was released by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati on November 17, 2025. The official announcement states that the GATE 2026 exam will take place in two shifts on February 7, 8, 15, and 15, 2026. As per the schedule, GATE CS exam will be held on February 8, 2025. Hence, candidates should prepare for the exams well ahead of time and refer to the previous years' topic-wise weightage and the most important topics.

GATE CS Previous Years' Topic-wise Weightage

GATE 2026 aspirants shall refer to the detailed topic-wise weightage for the CS based on the previous years' trends:

Topics	2025	2024	2023
Engineering Mathematics	16	23	11
Aptitude	20	20	10
Computer Networks	10	12	9
Programming and Data Structures	17	11	9
Computer Organisation & Architecture	13	13	5
Operating System	10	10	7
Databases	9	12	3
Theory of Computation	9	9	1
Digital Logic	9	5	2
Compiler Design	9	8	2
Algorithms	8	7	3

GATE 2026 CS List of Most Important Topics

Candidates to appear for the GATE 2026 shall note the list of the most important topics for CS here and accordingly prepare for the exams:

Subjects	Most Important Topics
Engineering Mathematics	Limits, continuity and differentiability Poisson and binomial distributions Conditional probability and Bayes theorem
Aptitude	Percentages Profit, Loss, and Discount Data interpretation
Computer Networks	IP Addressing Error Control Subnetting and Supernetting Flow Control TCP Routing Protocol
Programming and Data Structures	Array Stack and Queue Linked List Recursive Programs
Computer Organisation & Architecture	Instruction Cycle Memory Organization Addressing Mode Cache organization
Operating System	CPU Scheduling Synchronization mechanism Page replacement algorithms
Databases	FDs and Normalisation Relational algebra SQL queries
Theory of Computation	Regular languages DFA & NFA Undecidability
Digital Logic	K-Map Combinational circuits SOP and POS form
Compiler Design	Lexical Analysis Syntax Analysis-Parsing
Algorithms	Sorting algorithms Greedy Algorithm Graph Algorithm

These topics are based on the PYQs and analysis by experts of the expected questions for GATE CS 2026. Hence, candidates should prepare for the exams well.

Keep visiting CollegeDekho for the latest Education News on entrance exams, board exams and admissions. You can also write to us at our email ID news@collegedekho.com.