diff --git a/backend/app/utils/docx_parser.py b/backend/app/utils/docx_parser.py
index 7205cda..c9f0bee 100644
--- a/backend/app/utils/docx_parser.py
+++ b/backend/app/utils/docx_parser.py
@@ -6,12 +6,22 @@ try:
 except Exception:
     Document = None
 
+# WordprocessingML namespace
+_WML_NS = "http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main"
+
+
+def _extract_text_from_element(element, nsmap: dict) -> str:
+    """Extract all text content from a paragraph or table cell element."""
+    texts = element.findall(f".//{{{_WML_NS}}}t", nsmap)
+    return "".join(t.text or "" for t in texts)
+
 
 def parse_docx(file_path: str) -> str:
     """Parse a DOCX file and return its text content.
 
-    The function preserves paragraph breaks by inserting a newline between
-    paragraphs. Empty documents yield an empty string.
+    Extracts text from both paragraphs and tables in document order,
+    preserving the original reading sequence. Table rows are joined
+    with `` | `` separators; paragraphs and rows are separated by newlines.
 
     Raises:
         ValueError: If the file is not a valid DOCX document or cannot be read.
@@ -23,6 +33,26 @@ def parse_docx(file_path: str) -> str:
     except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - surface invalid DOCX
         raise ValueError(f"Invalid DOCX file: {exc}") from exc
 
-    paragraphs = [para.text for para in doc.paragraphs if para.text is not None]
-    # Join with newline to preserve paragraph breaks
-    return "\n".join(paragraphs).strip()
+    parts: list[str] = []
+
+    for element in doc.element.body:
+        tag = element.tag
+
+        if tag == f"{{{_WML_NS}}}p":
+            # Paragraph – extract all run text
+            text = _extract_text_from_element(element, {})
+            parts.append(text)
+
+        elif tag == f"{{{_WML_NS}}}tbl":
+            # Table – extract rows and cells in order
+            nsmap = {"w": _WML_NS}
+            for row in element.findall("w:tr", nsmap):
+                row_texts: list[str] = []
+                for cell in row.findall("w:tc", nsmap):
+                    cell_text = _extract_text_from_element(cell, nsmap).strip()
+                    if cell_text:
+                        row_texts.append(cell_text)
+                if row_texts:
+                    parts.append(" | ".join(row_texts))
+
+    return "\n".join(parts).strip()