I tried it but it was pretty much the same...I didn't look at the plan super close...but it either ignored the hint or it made no difference.... Here's the statement: SELECT /*+ FIRST_ROWS */ NVL(BYTES,-1) FROM USER_SEGMENTS WHERE SEGMENT_NAME = 'mytab' OR SEGMENT_NAME IN (SELECT SEGMENT_NAME FROM USER_LOBS WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'mytab'); Thanks! ________________________________ From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Thomas Day Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 9:12 AM To: oracle-l Subject: Re: Slow USER_SEGMENTS query OK. Here's a hint /* FIRST ROW */ If it works, great. If not, you're no worse off.