SELECT INTO SQL - Language Statements SELECT INTO define a new table from the results of a query SELECT INTO SELECT [ ALL | DISTINCT [ ON ( expression [, ...] ) ] ] * | expression [ AS output_name ] [, ...] INTO [ TEMPORARY | TEMP ] [ TABLE ] new_table [ FROM from_item [, ...] ] [ WHERE condition ] [ GROUP BY expression [, ...] ] [ HAVING condition [, ...] ] [ { UNION | INTERSECT | EXCEPT } [ ALL ] select ] [ ORDER BY expression [ ASC | DESC | USING operator ] [ NULLS { FIRST | LAST } ] [, ...] ] [ LIMIT { count | ALL } ] [ OFFSET start ] [ FOR { UPDATE | SHARE } [ OF table_name [, ...] ] [ NOWAIT ] [...] ] 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. TEMPORARY or TEMP If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to for details. new_table The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created. All other parameters are described in detail under . 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. Prior to PostgreSQL 8.1, the table created by SELECT INTO included OIDs by default. In PostgreSQL 8.1, this is not the case — to include OIDs in the new table, the configuration variable must be enabled. Alternatively, CREATE TABLE AS can be used with the WITH OIDS clause. 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'; 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 ) and PL/pgSQL (see ). The PostgreSQL usage of SELECT INTO to represent table creation is historical. It is best to use CREATE TABLE AS for this purpose in new code.