NEET
NEET 2027 Biology Syllabus: Units, NCERT Chapters and Marks
12 Nov 2026
16 min read
The NEET 2027 Biology syllabus: 10 NMC units mapped to all 32 NCERT chapters, the chapters dropped in 2023, the 90 question 360 mark pattern and a unit by unit revision order.
The NEET 2027 Biology syllabus has 10 units set by the National Medical Commission, covering 32 NCERT chapters: 19 from Class 11 and 13 from Class 12. Biology carries 90 questions and 360 of the 720 marks, half the paper. The official list is the NMC syllabus of 22 December 2025, used for NEET 2026 and the base for 2027.
Key takeaways on the NEET 2027 Biology syllabus
Ten units, five mainly from Class 11 (Diversity, Structural Organisation, Cell, Plant Physiology, Human Physiology) and five mainly from Class 12 (Reproduction, Genetics and Evolution, Biology and Human Welfare, Biotechnology, Ecology).
Biology is 90 questions for 360 marks, scored at plus 4 for a correct answer and minus 1 for a wrong one. It is the single biggest lever on your rank, because it is half the paper and the most NCERT bound of the three subjects.
The NEET 2027 Biology syllabus maps almost line by line onto the current NCERT Class 11 and Class 12 Biology textbooks. The table below gives the chapter numbers for every unit so you can tick them off.
Chapters that were cut from NCERT in 2023, such as Transport in Plants, Mineral Nutrition, Digestion and Absorption and Environmental Issues, are not in the NMC list. Do not spend revision time on them.
A handful of NMC topics go a little beyond the current NCERT text, such as the five plant families named in Unit 2 and the frog in animal morphology. They are listed below so nothing surprises you in the hall.
NTA publishes the NEET 2027 information bulletin, with the syllabus annexed, usually in the first half of February; the 2026 bulletin carried the same NMC list. Study from the NMC list now and check the annexure the day the bulletin is out.
What does the NEET 2027 Biology syllabus look like at a glance?
NTA conducts NEET UG on the syllabus notified by the NMC's Under Graduate Medical Education Board. The NMC finalised the current list in its public notice of 22 December 2025, hosted by NTA with the full syllabus, and NTA used it for NEET 2026. Until the NEET 2027 bulletin says otherwise, this is the NEET 2027 Biology syllabus to work from. The NEET 2027 syllabus hub carries all three subjects; this guide goes deep on Biology alone.
Item | NEET 2027 Biology |
|---|---|
Units | 10 (NMC list) |
NCERT chapters covered | 32: Class 11 chapters 1 to 19, Class 12 chapters 1 to 13 |
Questions | 90 (Botany and Zoology, 45 each in the pattern NTA has used) |
Marks | 360 of 720, four marks per question |
Negative marking | Minus 1 for each wrong answer, 0 for a blank |
Question type | Four option, single correct, multiple choice |
Time for the whole paper | 3 hours, 180 questions across Physics, Chemistry and Biology |
Syllabus authority | NMC Under Graduate Medical Education Board |
The pattern figures come from the NEET UG 2026 information bulletin, which also sets out the marking scheme and the 13 languages. Three hours for 180 questions is one minute a question, and most toppers finish Biology in about 50 minutes to buy time for Physics. That is only possible when the Biology content is known from NCERT at recall speed, which is why the chapter map below matters more than any list of "important topics".
Which NCERT chapters are in each NEET 2027 Biology unit?
The NMC list is written in topics, not chapters. The table below translates it into the chapter numbers of the current NCERT Biology textbooks (the editions in print since 2023), so you can see exactly what to read for each unit. Class 11 chapters are marked C11 and Class 12 chapters C12.
NMC unit | What the NMC list covers | NCERT chapters |
|---|---|---|
Unit 1: Diversity in Living World | What is living, biodiversity, taxonomy and systematics, binomial nomenclature, five kingdom classification, Monera, Protista, Fungi, lichens, viruses and viroids, plant groups from algae to gymnosperms, animal phyla and chordate classes | C11 ch 1 The Living World; ch 2 Biological Classification; ch 3 Plant Kingdom; ch 4 Animal Kingdom |
Unit 2: Structural Organisation in Animals and Plants | Morphology and anatomy of root, stem, leaf, inflorescence, flower, fruit and seed; five plant families; animal tissues; organ systems of the frog | C11 ch 5 Morphology of Flowering Plants; ch 6 Anatomy of Flowering Plants; ch 7 Structural Organisation in Animals |
Unit 3: Cell Structure and Function | Cell theory, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, organelles, biomolecules, enzymes, cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis | C11 ch 8 Cell: The Unit of Life; ch 9 Biomolecules; ch 10 Cell Cycle and Cell Division |
Unit 4: Plant Physiology | Photosynthesis, respiration, plant growth and development, growth regulators | C11 ch 11 Photosynthesis in Higher Plants; ch 12 Respiration in Plants; ch 13 Plant Growth and Development |
Unit 5: Human Physiology | Breathing, body fluids and circulation, excretion, locomotion, neural control, chemical coordination, with the named disorders in brief | C11 ch 14 Breathing and Exchange of Gases; ch 15 Body Fluids and Circulation; ch 16 Excretory Products and their Elimination; ch 17 Locomotion and Movement; ch 18 Neural Control and Coordination; ch 19 Chemical Coordination and Integration |
Unit 6: Reproduction | Sexual reproduction in flowering plants, human reproduction, reproductive health | C12 ch 1 Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants; ch 2 Human Reproduction; ch 3 Reproductive Health |
Unit 7: Genetics and Evolution | Mendelian and non Mendelian inheritance, chromosome theory, sex determination, linkage, human genetic disorders, DNA and RNA, replication, transcription, translation, lac operon, human genome, DNA fingerprinting, evolution and Hardy Weinberg | C12 ch 4 Principles of Inheritance and Variation; ch 5 Molecular Basis of Inheritance; ch 6 Evolution |
Unit 8: Biology and Human Welfare | Human diseases from malaria to dengue and chikungunya, immunity and vaccines, cancer, HIV and AIDS, drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse; microbes in food, industry, sewage, energy, biocontrol and biofertilisers | C12 ch 7 Human Health and Disease; ch 8 Microbes in Human Welfare |
Unit 9: Biotechnology and Its Applications | Recombinant DNA technology, insulin and vaccine production, gene therapy, Bt crops, transgenic animals, biosafety, biopiracy and patents | C12 ch 9 Biotechnology: Principles and Processes; ch 10 Biotechnology and its Applications |
Unit 10: Ecology and Environment | Population interactions and attributes, ecosystem structure, productivity, energy flow, pyramids, biodiversity and its conservation | C12 ch 11 Organisms and Populations; ch 12 Ecosystem; ch 13 Biodiversity and Conservation |
Counted this way, Class 11 contributes 19 chapters in five units and Class 12 contributes 13 chapters in five units. Class 11 is the larger half of the reading, so a dropper who has forgotten Class 11 is giving up more than half of Biology. The unit by unit question counts and the order to revise in are worked out in the NEET 2027 chapter wise weightage guide, and the diagram list that goes with these chapters is on NEETsheet's page of all 260 NCERT Biology figures.
What is not in the NEET 2027 Biology syllabus?
This is the part most NEET 2027 Biology syllabus pages skip, and it saves weeks. The NMC list follows the NCERT textbooks as they stand after the 2023 rationalisation, so the chapters that were dropped from the books are also absent from the exam. Older guides, coaching modules printed before 2024 and second hand books still carry them.
Topic no longer in the NMC list | Where it used to sit | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Transport in Plants (water potential, ascent of sap, transpiration) | Old Class 11 Unit 4 | Skip, except the osmosis basics that still appear inside the cell chapter |
Mineral Nutrition (macro and micronutrients, nitrogen cycle) | Old Class 11 Unit 4 | Skip; nitrogen fixing microbes survive only as biofertilisers in Unit 8 |
Digestion and Absorption | Old Class 11 Unit 5 | Skip |
Reproduction in Organisms (asexual reproduction, life spans) | Old Class 12 Unit 6 | Skip; flowering plant reproduction starts directly at flower structure |
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production (animal husbandry, plant breeding, tissue culture) | Old Class 12 Unit 8 | Skip, apart from Bt crops which sit in Unit 9 |
Environmental Issues (pollution, ozone, global warming case studies) | Old Class 12 Unit 10 | Skip; biodiversity loss and conservation stay in Unit 10 |
Two topics in the NMC list go slightly beyond the current NCERT chapters and are worth a supplementary read. Unit 2 names five plant families, Malvaceae, Cruciferae, Leguminosae, Compositae and Gramineae, while the NCERT morphology chapter describes Fabaceae (the legumes) and Solanaceae in detail, so the other families need a short reference from your coaching material or the older NCERT edition. Unit 2 also lists the organ systems of the frog, which the current NCERT chapter covers briefly. Unit 5 names specific disorders for each system, from asthma and emphysema to gout and Addison's disease, with the instruction that they are to be dealt with in brief: learn the one line definition of each, not the pathology.
How are marks spread across the NEET 2027 Biology units?
Ten units share 360 marks, so an average unit is worth about 36 marks, but the units are far from equal in size. The countable measure is the number of NCERT chapters behind each unit, and it gives you a revision order you can plan from.
Unit | NCERT chapters | Share of Biology reading |
|---|---|---|
Unit 5 Human Physiology | 6 | About 19 per cent |
Unit 1 Diversity in Living World | 4 | About 13 per cent |
Unit 2 Structural Organisation | 3 | About 9 per cent |
Unit 3 Cell Structure and Function | 3 | About 9 per cent |
Unit 4 Plant Physiology | 3 | About 9 per cent |
Unit 6 Reproduction | 3 | About 9 per cent |
Unit 7 Genetics and Evolution | 3 | About 9 per cent |
Unit 10 Ecology and Environment | 3 | About 9 per cent |
Unit 8 Biology and Human Welfare | 2 | About 6 per cent |
Unit 9 Biotechnology and Its Applications | 2 | About 6 per cent |
Human Physiology, with six chapters, is the single heaviest unit in the whole NEET syllabus and the one to finish first. Genetics and Evolution and Ecology are three chapters each and are usually asked straight from NCERT lines, so they reward careful reading over problem solving. Biology and Human Welfare and Biotechnology are two chapters each, short, and the quickest marks to bank late in a revision cycle. The chapter wise weightage guide gives this split for all three subjects, and the NEET previous year question papers let you see how each unit has actually been asked.
The marking scheme makes blanks cheaper than guesses only when you are truly unsure. With plus 4 and minus 1, a question you can narrow to two options is worth attempting; a question you cannot narrow at all is worth leaving. In NEET 2026, 19 candidates scored above 700 and 10,160 scored 600 or more out of close to 20 lakh who appeared, so the NTA press release of 16 July 2026 shows how narrow the band at the top is. A single careless Biology question is four marks and often hundreds of ranks.
How should you study the NEET 2027 Biology syllabus from now to May?
Print the NEET 2027 Biology syllabus table above and write the NCERT chapter numbers against each unit in your own notebook. This is your checklist for the next six months.
Read every chapter of NCERT Class 11 and Class 12 Biology line by line, including the figures, tables, captions and the small print boxes. Most Biology questions are NCERT sentences with one word changed. The guide to the NCERT books explains which editions to use.
After each chapter, do 30 to 45 single correct questions on it. NEETsheet's Biology MCQ practice is organised by chapter in the same order as this table, and the best books for NEET 2027 lists one question bank per subject beyond NCERT.
Revise the diagrams separately. Draw the heart, nephron, sarcomere, flower, DNA replication fork and the ecological pyramids from memory once a week.
From February, do one full three hour paper a week in the pattern of the exam, and hold Biology to 50 minutes. The mock test strategy guide sets the review method.
In the last six weeks, go back only to NCERT and your error log. No new book, no new topic.
For example, take Meera. She is a Class 12 student in Pune who started NEET preparation in June 2026. By November she has finished Class 11 Biology once and is halfway through Class 12. She prints the chapter map, finds that Units 1, 3 and 5 are done, and schedules Units 6 to 10 for November and December, one Class 12 chapter every three days with MCQs the same evening. January and February go to a second reading of Class 11, which she had half forgotten. From March she sits a full paper every Sunday. Three things to notice from Meera's plan: she finished the syllabus once before the bulletin came out, she gave Class 11 a second full pass instead of trusting her June memory, and she did not open a single chapter that the table above marks as dropped.
If you are starting late or restarting after a gap year, the NEET 2027 study plan for droppers turns this list into a six month timetable, and the how to start NEET UG 2027 preparation guide covers the first eight weeks.
Has the NEET Biology syllabus changed for 2027?
The NEET 2027 Biology syllabus in force is the NMC list finalised on 22 December 2025 for NEET 2026. It carries the same 10 Biology units and the same topics as the 2024 and 2025 lists, which were the first to follow the rationalised NCERT textbooks. NTA's 2026 bulletin annexed this list without change. The NEET 2027 information bulletin has not yet been issued; NTA published the 2026 bulletin in the first half of February 2026, and the exam that counted for the 2026 result was held on 21 June 2026 with results on 16 July 2026. Expect the 2027 bulletin on the same pattern, and check its syllabus annexure the day it appears. The other question families ask about 2027 is the exam mode: the NEET 2027 CBT guide and the web story on computer based testing set out what NTA has said and what is still only talk. The full NEET syllabus guide covers the Physics and Chemistry units in the same depth.
Who must study the full NEET 2027 Biology syllabus?
Everyone who sits NEET UG 2027, which includes every candidate for MBBS and BDS in India, for BAMS, BHMS and the other AYUSH degrees, for B.Sc nursing seats filled through NEET, for the veterinary quota, and every Indian student who plans to study MBBS abroad and practise in India afterwards, because a qualifying NEET score is required to sit FMGE later. The eligibility side, from the 17 year age rule to the qualifying codes for your Class 12 board, is covered in the NEET eligibility criteria 2027 guide. Biology or Biotechnology must be one of your Class 12 subjects along with Physics, Chemistry and English; the bulletin accepts either, but the NEET paper tests Biology, so a Biotechnology student must cover the full list above.
Your next step
Download the NMC syllabus from the NTA link above, tick the 32 chapters against the table, and start with the unit you know least. For chapter wise practice in the order of this syllabus, NEETsheet's Biology syllabus page and its MCQ sets follow the same 10 units.
Related Topics
- NEET 2027
- Biology
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