MySQL DISTINCT Clause

Last Updated : 23 Mar, 2026

The SELECT DISTINCT statement is used to retrieve unique values from one or more columns in a table. It removes duplicate records and returns only distinct results.

  • It helps in eliminating duplicate data.
  • It can be used with one or multiple columns.
  • It is useful for data analysis and filtering unique entries.

Syntax:

SELECT DISTINCT column1, column2, ...FROM table_nameWHERE condition;
  • column1, column2, ... : Columns from which distinct values are selected.
  • table_name: Name of the table from which data is retrieved.
  • condition: Optional filter to select specific rows.

Examples of DISTINCT Clause

These examples show how to use DISTINCT to get unique values from a table.

Example 1: Selecting Distinct Values from a Single Column

Consider a table named employees with the following data:

Screenshot-2026-03-23-144241

To retrieve a list of unique departments, you can use the DISTINCT clause:

SELECT DISTINCT department
FROM employees;

Output:

Screenshot-2026-03-23-144409
  • This query returns a list of unique departments from the employees table, eliminating any duplicates.

Example 2: Selecting Distinct Values From Multiple Columns

Suppose you want to retrieve unique combinations of department and employee_name. You can modify the query to include multiple columns:

SELECT DISTINCT department, employee_name
FROM employees;

Output:

Screenshot-2026-03-23-144456
  • In this case, the query returns distinct combinations of department and employee_name.

Example 3: Using DISTINCT with WHERE Clause

DISTINCT clause can be combined with the WHERE clause to filter results. For example, to get unique departments that start with 'S':

SELECT DISTINCT department
FROM employees
WHERE department LIKE 'S%';

Output:

Screenshot-2026-03-23-144543
  • This query filters the departments to only those starting with 'S' and then returns unique values.

Things to Remember When Using DISTINCT

The following points highlight important aspects to consider when using the DISTINCT clause in MySQL.

  • Performance Impact: DISTINCT can slow down queries on large datasets as MySQL must compare rows to remove duplicates.
  • Order of Columns: Uniqueness depends on the order of columns in the SELECT statement.
  • NULL Values: Multiple NULL values are treated as duplicates.
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