PostgreSQL Delete

The DELETE Statement

DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition removes every row that matches the condition. Unlike UPDATE, DELETE doesn't change values - it removes entire rows, so the WHERE clause is the only thing standing between deleting a handful of rows and deleting the whole table.

DELETE FROM employees
WHERE employee_id = 110;

A WHERE clause can combine multiple conditions with AND, OR, and IN to target exactly the rows you want removed, whether that's rows matching a status, a date range, or a list of specific IDs.

DELETE FROM orders
WHERE status = 'cancelled'
  AND order_date < '2024-01-01';

Deleting Rows Using Data From Another Table

When the rows you want to delete depend on data in a related table, PostgreSQL's DELETE ... USING clause lets you join that table into the condition, the same way UPDATE ... FROM does.

DELETE FROM orders o
USING customers c
WHERE o.customer_id = c.customer_id
  AND c.status = 'blacklisted'
RETURNING o.order_id;

• Preview the rows first with SELECT * FROM table WHERE <same condition>.
• Wrap the DELETE in a transaction so you can ROLLBACK if the result looks wrong.
• Add RETURNING to confirm which rows were actually removed.
• Check for foreign key references - related rows may need to be deleted or updated first.
• Index columns used in the WHERE clause so large deletes don't scan the entire table.