In general error is which nobody can control or guess when it occurs.Exception can be guessed and can be handled. In Java Exception and Error are sub class of Throwable.It is differentiated based on the program control.Error such as OutOfMemory Error which no programmer can guess and can handle it.It depends on dynamically based on architectire,OS and server configuration.Where as Exception programmer can handle it and can avoid application's misbehavior.For example if your code is looking for a file which is not available then IOException is thrown.Such instances programmer can guess and can handle it.