{"id":1128,"date":"2017-02-20T23:01:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T17:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=1128"},"modified":"2026-08-11T18:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T12:42:28","slug":"mysql-find_in_set-multiple-search-string","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/mysql-find_in_set-multiple-search-string\/","title":{"rendered":"MySQL: Search Multiple Values Without Using FIND_IN_SET()"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MySQL provides the FIND_IN_SET()<\/code> function to search for a value within a comma-separated list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIND_IN_SET('a', 'a,b,c,d')<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This works when searching for a single value. However, if we want to search for multiple values at the same time, FIND_IN_SET()<\/code> cannot directly handle the search in the following format:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FIND_IN_SET('a,b,c,d', 'a,b,c,d')<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
One way to achieve this is by using multiple FIND_IN_SET()<\/code> conditions with OR<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FIND_IN_SET('a', 'a,b,c,d')\nOR FIND_IN_SET('b', 'a,b,c,d')\nOR FIND_IN_SET('c', 'a,b,c,d')<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
However, when there are many values to search, maintaining this type of query can become difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we will see a simple way to search multiple values without using FIND_IN_SET()<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before proceeding, you should have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n