diff --git a/pandas/io/parquet.py b/pandas/io/parquet.py
index 09539089b3904..459f518d076db 100644
--- a/pandas/io/parquet.py
+++ b/pandas/io/parquet.py
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
 )
 from pandas.util._validators import check_dtype_backend
 
+from pandas.core.dtypes.common import is_file_like
+
 from pandas import (
     DataFrame,
     get_option,
@@ -658,6 +660,13 @@ def read_parquet(
     0    3    8
     1    4    9
     """
+    # gh-62922: validate path type early to match documented API expectations
+    # and provide a consistent, clear user error immediately.
+    if not (isinstance(path, (str, os.PathLike)) or is_file_like(path)):
+        raise TypeError(
+            f"read_parquet expected str/os.PathLike or file-like object, "
+            f"got {type(path).__name__} type"
+        )
 
     impl = get_engine(engine)
     check_dtype_backend(dtype_backend)
diff --git a/pandas/tests/io/test_parquet.py b/pandas/tests/io/test_parquet.py
index 2927b24624026..eff6763e807e1 100644
--- a/pandas/tests/io/test_parquet.py
+++ b/pandas/tests/io/test_parquet.py
@@ -248,6 +248,42 @@ def check_partition_names(path, expected):
     assert dataset.partitioning.schema.names == expected
 
 
+def test_read_parquet_invalid_path_types(tmp_path, engine):
+    # GH #62922
+    df = pd.DataFrame({"a": [1]})
+    path = tmp_path / "test_read_parquet.parquet"
+    df.to_parquet(path, engine=engine)
+
+    bad_path_types = [
+        [str(path)],  # list
+        (str(path),),  # tuple
+        b"raw-bytes",  # bytes
+    ]
+    for bad in bad_path_types:
+        match = (
+            f"read_parquet expected str/os.PathLike or file-like object, "
+            f"got {type(bad).__name__} type"
+        )
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError, match=match):
+            read_parquet(bad, engine=engine)
+
+
+def test_read_parquet_valid_path_types(tmp_path, engine):
+    # GH #62922
+    df = pd.DataFrame({"a": [1]})
+    path = tmp_path / "test_read_parquet.parquet"
+    df.to_parquet(path, engine=engine)
+    # str
+    read_parquet(str(path), engine=engine)
+    # os.PathLike
+    read_parquet(pathlib.Path(path), engine=engine)
+    # file-like object
+    buf = BytesIO()
+    df.to_parquet(buf, engine=engine)
+    buf.seek(0)
+    read_parquet(buf, engine=engine)
+
+
 def test_invalid_engine(df_compat, temp_file):
     msg = "engine must be one of 'pyarrow', 'fastparquet'"
     with pytest.raises(ValueError, match=msg):