How Max a Table Can Be

Maximum Size Limit of a Table

According to Oracle Logical Database Limits, tables can have at most 1000 columns and no limit on rows and space, so theoretically, there's no space limit on a table.

But not so fast, we should consider other factors. Since one ordinary table can only be stored in one tablespace, therefore the space of an ordinary table is confined by maximum size limit of a tablespace.

For tables containing LOB, nested tables or partitions, each segment of the table can be stored in separate tablespace, which means, each of them is also confined by the space limitation of their own tablespace.

In other words, an ordinary table which has only one segment is bounded by the maximum size of a tablespace, whereas a non-ordinary table which owns unknown numbers of segments is bounded by the maximum size of a database, which is the ultimate boundary of everything within a database.

Knowing the differences between schema objects and segments could help you understand the structure of Oracle database better.

Here I list logical limitations on tables.

• Rows in a Table: Unlimited.
• Columns in a Table: 1000.
• Tables in a Cluster: 32 tables.
• Tables in a database: Unlimited.
• Partitions in a Table: 1024K - 1 = 1023999.
• Sub-partitions in a Partitioned Table: 1024K - 1 = 1023999.