Prefetching queries in React Query loads data in advance before users navigate to a page or trigger an action, creating a seamless experience with instant data display. As the creator of CoreUI, a widely used open-source UI library, I’ve implemented prefetching strategies in data-heavy admin dashboards throughout my 11 years of React development. The most effective approach is using queryClient.prefetchQuery in event handlers or navigation logic to load data proactively. This method populates the cache before components mount, eliminating loading states for better user experience.