# DROP DATABASE
<a name="drop-database"></a>

Removes the named database from the catalog. If the database contains tables, you must either drop the tables before running `DROP DATABASE` or use the `CASCADE` clause. The use of `DATABASE` and `SCHEMA` are interchangeable. They mean the same thing.

## Synopsis
<a name="synopsis"></a>

```
DROP {DATABASE | SCHEMA} [IF EXISTS] database_name [RESTRICT | CASCADE]
```

## Parameters
<a name="parameters"></a>

**[IF EXISTS]**  
Causes the error to be suppressed if `database_name` doesn't exist.

**[RESTRICT\$1CASCADE]**  
Determines how tables within `database_name` are regarded during the `DROP` operation. If you specify `RESTRICT`, the database is not dropped if it contains tables. This is the default behavior. Specifying `CASCADE` causes the database and all its tables to be dropped.

## Examples
<a name="examples"></a>

```
DROP DATABASE clickstreams;
```

```
DROP SCHEMA IF EXISTS clickstreams CASCADE;
```

**Note**  
When you try to drop a database whose name has special characters (for example, `my-database`), you may receive an error message. To resolve this issue, try enclosing the database name in back tick (`) characters. For information about naming databases in Athena, see [Name databases, tables, and columns](tables-databases-columns-names.md).