TRUNCATE SQL - Language Statements TRUNCATE Empty a table 1999-07-20 TRUNCATE [ TABLE ] name 1998-09-08 Inputs name The name of the table to be truncated. 1998-09-08 Outputs TRUNCATE Message returned if the table is successfully truncated. 1998-09-08 Description TRUNCATE quickly removes all rows from a table. It has the same effect as an unqualified DELETE but since it does not actually scan the table it is faster. This is most effective on large tables. Usage Truncate the table bigtable: TRUNCATE TABLE bigtable; Compatibility 1998-09-08 SQL92 There is no TRUNCATE in SQL92.