# SELECT_INTO - define a new table from the results of a query - man(7) - [phpMan]

_SELECT_ [_INTO_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/INTO/7/markdown)                     PostgreSQL 16.14 Documentation                     _SELECT_ [_INTO_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/INTO/7/markdown)

## NAME
       SELECT_INTO - define a new table from the results of a query

## SYNOPSIS
       [ WITH [ RECURSIVE ] _with_query_ [, ...] ]
       SELECT [ ALL | DISTINCT [ ON ( _expression_ [, ...] ) ] ]
           [ { * | _expression_ [ [ AS ] _output_name_ ] } [, ...] ]
           INTO [ TEMPORARY | TEMP | UNLOGGED ] [ TABLE ] _new_table_
           [ FROM _from_item_ [, ...] ]
           [ WHERE _condition_ ]
           [ GROUP BY _expression_ [, ...] ]
           [ HAVING _condition_ ]
           [ WINDOW _window_name_ AS ( _window_definition_ ) [, ...] ]
           [ { UNION | INTERSECT | EXCEPT } [ ALL | DISTINCT ] _select_ ]
           [ ORDER BY _expression_ [ ASC | DESC | USING _operator_ ] [ NULLS { FIRST | LAST } ] [, ...] ]
           [ LIMIT { _count_ | ALL } ]
           [ OFFSET _start_ [ ROW | ROWS ] ]
           [ FETCH { FIRST | NEXT } [ _count_ ] { ROW | ROWS } ONLY ]
           [ FOR { UPDATE | SHARE } [ OF _table_name_ [, ...] ] [ NOWAIT ] [...] ]

## DESCRIPTION
       **SELECT INTO **creates a new table and fills it with data computed by a query. The data is not
       returned to the client, as it is with a normal **SELECT**. The new table's columns have the names
       and data types associated with the output columns of the **SELECT**.

## PARAMETERS
       TEMPORARY or TEMP
           If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to CREATE TABLE
           ([**CREATE_TABLE**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/CREATETABLE/7/markdown)) for details.

       UNLOGGED
           If specified, the table is created as an unlogged table. Refer to CREATE TABLE
           ([**CREATE_TABLE**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/CREATETABLE/7/markdown)) for details.

       _new_table_
           The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.

       All other parameters are described in detail under [**SELECT**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/SELECT/7/markdown).

## NOTES
       **CREATE TABLE AS **is functionally similar to **SELECT INTO**.  **CREATE TABLE AS **is the recommended
       syntax, since this form of **SELECT INTO **is not available in ECPG or PL/pgSQL, because they
       interpret the INTO clause differently. Furthermore, **CREATE TABLE AS **offers a superset of the
       functionality provided by **SELECT INTO**.

       In contrast to **CREATE TABLE AS**, **SELECT INTO **does not allow specifying properties like a
       table's access method with USING _method_ or the table's tablespace with TABLESPACE
       _tablespace_name_. Use **CREATE TABLE AS **if necessary. Therefore, the default table access method
       is chosen for the new table. See default_table_access_method for more information.

## EXAMPLES
       Create a new table films_recent consisting of only recent entries from the table films:

           SELECT * INTO films_recent FROM films WHERE date_prod >= '2002-01-01';

## COMPATIBILITY
       The SQL standard uses **SELECT INTO **to represent selecting values into scalar variables of a
       host program, rather than creating a new table. This indeed is the usage found in ECPG (see
       Chapter 36) and PL/pgSQL (see Chapter 43). The PostgreSQL usage of **SELECT INTO **to represent
       table creation is historical. Some other SQL implementations also use **SELECT INTO **in this way
       (but most SQL implementations support **CREATE TABLE AS **instead). Apart from such compatibility
       considerations, it is best to use **CREATE TABLE AS **for this purpose in new code.

## SEE ALSO
       CREATE TABLE AS ([**CREATE_TABLE_AS**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/CREATETABLEAS/7/markdown))

PostgreSQL 16.14                                2026                                  _SELECT_ [_INTO_(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/INTO/7/markdown)