- "Strength of Materials" by R.K. Bansal
- "Mechanics of Materials" by Ferdinand Beer and E. Russell Johnston Jr.
- "Strength of Materials" by S. Ramamrutham


- "Theory of Machines" by R.S. Khurmi and J.K. Gupta
- "Theory of Machines" by Thomas Bevan
- "Theory of Machines" by S.S. Rattan


- "Machine Design" by V.B. Bhandari
- "Design of Machine Elements" by V.M. Faires and Roy M. Wingren
- "Machine Design" by Joseph E. Shigley and Charles R. Mischke


- "Fluid Mechanics" by R.K. Bansal
- "Introduction to Fluid Mechanics" by Robert W. Fox
- "Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machines" by K. L. Kumar


- "Engineering Thermodynamics" by P.K. Nag
- "Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach" by Yunus A. Cengel and Michael A. Boles
- "Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer" by Yunus A. Cengel


- "Heat and Mass Transfer" by R.K. Rajput
- "Introduction to Heat Transfer" by Frank P. Incropera and David P. DeWitt
- "Heat Transfer: A Practical Approach" by Yunus A. Cengel and Afshin J. Ghajar


- "Production Engineering: Theory and Practice" by R.K. Jain
- "A Textbook of Production Engineering" by P.C. Sharma
- "Manufacturing Science" by Amitabha Ghosh and Ashok Kumar Mallik


- "Industrial Engineering and Management" by O.P. Khanna
- "Industrial Engineering and Production Management" by Martand Telsang
- "Industrial Engineering and Management" by Ravi Shankar


- "Engineering Mechanics" by R.K. Bansal
- "Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics" by Irving H. Shames
- "Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics" by J.L. Meriam and L.G. Kraige


- "Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction" by William D. Callister Jr. and David G. Rethwisch
- "Materials Science and Engineering" by V. Raghavan
- "Material Science and Engineering" by I.P. Singh

These recommended books and study materials cover the major topics of the Mechanical Engineering optional subject and are widely used by UPSC aspirants.