MySQL LIMIT Clause

The LIMIT clause is used to specify the number of records to return.

The LIMIT clause is useful on large tables with thousands of records. Returning a large number of records can impact performance.

LIMIT Syntax

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition
LIMIT number;

Demo Database

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country
1

 Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Constitución 2222 México D.F. 05021 Mexico
3 Antonio Moreno Taquería Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 México D.F. 05023 Mexico
4

 Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover Sq. London WA1 1DP UK
5 Berglunds snabbköp Christina Berglund Berguvsvägen 8 Luleå S-958 22 Sweden

MySQL LIMIT Examples

The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3;

What if we want to select records 4 - 6 (inclusive)?

MySQL provides a way to handle this: by using OFFSET.

The SQL query below says "return only 3 records, start on record 4 (OFFSET 3)":

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3 OFFSET 3;

ADD a WHERE CLAUSE

The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table, where the country is "Germany":

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany'
LIMIT 3;