Top 10 JPA Interview Questions and Answers (2025 Edition)

Crack your Java interview with these top 10 JPA questions and answers. Understand key JPA concepts, annotations, lifecycle, and advanced mappings with examples.

📘 Introduction

JPA (Java Persistence API) is a core specification in Java for managing relational data using object-oriented programming. It’s widely used in enterprise applications, especially with Spring Boot.

In this guide, we’ll explore the top 10 most commonly asked JPA interview questions along with clear answers and code snippets to help you get job-ready.

1️⃣ What is JPA?

Answer:
JPA (Java Persistence API) is a Java specification that provides a standard way to map Java objects to relational databases. It defines:

• How objects are persisted in a database
• How relationships are mapped
• How queries and transactions are handled

JPA is just a specification, not an implementation. Common providers include:

• Hibernate (default in Spring Boot)
• EclipseLink
• OpenJPA

2️⃣ What are the key annotations in JPA?

Answer:
Here are the most commonly used annotations in JPA:

✅ Example:

@Entity
@Table(name = "products")
public class Product {
    @Id
    @GeneratedValue
    private Long id;

    @Column(nullable = false)
    private String name;
}

3️⃣ What is the difference between JPA and Hibernate?

Answer:

JPA provides the standard, while Hibernate provides the actual implementation.

4️⃣ What is the purpose of the EntityManager?