The 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

Demo Database

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

MySQL LIMIT Examples

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

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)":

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":

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