Class cls = java.lang.String.class; Class sup = cls.getSuperclass(); // java.lang.Object cls = java.lang.Object.class; sup = cls.getSuperclass(); // null // The superclass of interfaces is always null cls = java.lang.Cloneable.class; sup = cls.getSuperclass(); // null // The superclass of primitive types is always null cls = int.class; sup = cls.getSuperclass(); // null