A JoinFetch annotation can be used on any relationship mapping, (OneToOne, ManyToOne, OneToMany, ManyToMany, BasicCollection, BasicMap). It allows the related objects to be joined and read in the same query as the source object. Join fetching can also be set at the query level, and it is normally recommended to do so as all queries may not require joining. Batch reading should be considered as an alternative to join fetching, especially for collection relationships as it is typically more efficient.