JPA: Does EntityManager.find() always return the same object reference for the same key?

Question

I\'ve got an integration test of a DAO in which I use a shared EntityManager (via Spring, using SharedEntityManagerCreator). The test class is marked as @Transactional, as

Answer 1

find() returns the same instance inside a scope of persistence context.

In the case of shared EntityManager (container-managed transaction-scoped persistence context, in JPA Spec terms) lifecycle of persistence context is bound to the transaction, therefore find() returns the same instance when called from the same transaction. I guess in your case setup of your test doesn't happen in the same transaction as a test method, so find() produces different instances.