# TOP and ORDER BY

Sort a query's results with ORDER BY, ascending or descending, by one column or several, and keep only the first rows with TOP.

![Cheat sheet: TOP and ORDER BY](https://fsdtrainingmedia.blob.core.windows.net/public/images/2026/11/0547a9bd1433439ea8825899c4612653.webp)

- Category: SQL
- Level: Novice
- Tags: ASC, DESC, order by, sql, TOP, t-sql
- Updated: November 3, 2026

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/cheat-sheets/select-in-t-sql-top-and-order-by-cheat-sheet