MySQL LIMIT

The MySQL LIMIT Clause

The LIMIT clause specifies the maximum number of records to return in a query.

The LIMIT clause is particularly useful for optimizing performance on large tables with numerous records.

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

Here is an excerpt 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

The following SQL statement retrieves the first three records from the “Customers” table:

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3;

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

MySQL allows this using the OFFSET clause.

The SQL query below specifies “return only 3 records, starting from record 4 (OFFSET 3)”:

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3 OFFSET 3;

The following SQL statement retrieves the first three records from the “Customers” table where the country is “Germany”:

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country=‘Germany’
LIMIT 3;