Oracle SQL Hints

hints can be categorized as follows: Hints for Optimization Approaches and Goals, Hints for Access Paths, Hints for Query Transformations, Hints for Join Orders, Hints for Join Operations, Hints for Parallel Execution, Additional Hints
Documented Hints
Hints for Optimization Approaches and Goals
ALL_ROWS
One of the hints that 'invokes' the Cost based optimizer
ALL_ROWS is usually used for batch processing or data warehousing systems.

FIRST_ROWS
One of the hints that 'invokes' the Cost based optimizer
FIRST_ROWS is usually used for OLTP systems.

CHOOSE
One of the hints that 'invokes' the Cost based optimizer
This hint lets the server choose (between ALL_ROWS and FIRST_ROWS, based on statistics gathered.

RULE
The RULE hint should be considered deprecated as it is dropped from Oracle9i2.
See also the following initialization parameters: optimizer_mode, optimizer_max_permutations, optimizer_index_cost_adj, optimizer_index_caching and
Hints for Access Paths
CLUSTER
Performs a nested loop by the cluster index of one of the tables.
FULL
Performs full table scan
HASH
Hashes one table (full scan) and creates a hash index for that table. Then hashes other table and uses hash index to find corresponding records. Therefore not suitable for < or > join conditions.
ROWID
Retrieves the row by rowid
INDEX
INDEX_ASC
INDEX_COMBINE
INDEX_DESC
INDEX_FFS
INDEX_JOIN
NO_INDEX
AND_EQUAL
The AND_EQUAL hint explicitly chooses an execution plan that uses an access path that merges the scans on several single-column indexes

Hints for Query Transformations
FACT
The FACT hint is used in the context of the star transformation to indicate to the transformation that the hinted table should be considered as a fact table.
MERGE
NO_EXPAND
NO_EXPAND_GSET_TO_UNION
NO_FACT
NO_MERGE
NOREWRITE
REWRITE
STAR_TRANSFORMATION
USE_CONCAT

Hints for Join Operations
DRIVING_SITE
HASH_AJ
HASH_SJ
LEADING
MERGE_AJ
MERGE_SJ
NL_AJ
NL_SJ
USE_HASH
USE_MERGE
USE_NL

Hints for Parallel Execution
NOPARALLEL
PARALLEL
NOPARALLEL_INDEX
PARALLEL_INDEX
PQ_DISTRIBUTE

Additional Hints
ANTIJOIN
APPEND
If a table or an index is specified with nologging, this hint applied with an insert statement produces a direct path insert which reduces generation of redo.
BITMAP
BUFFER
CACHE
CARDINALITY
CPU_COSTING
INLINE
MATERIALIZE
NO_ACCESS
NO_BUFFER
NO_MONITORING
NO_PUSH_PRED
NO_PUSH_SUBQ
NO_QKN_BUFF
NO_SEMIJOIN
NOAPPEND
NOCACHE
OR_EXPAND
ORDERED
ORDERED_PREDICATES
PUSH_PRED
PUSH_SUBQ
SELECTIVITY
SEMIJOIN
SEMIJOIN_DRIVER
STAR
The STAR hint forces a star query plan to be used, if possible. A star plan has the largest table in the query last in the join order and joins it with a nested loops join on a concatenated index. The STAR hint applies when there are at least three tables, the large table's concatenated index has at least three columns, and there are no conflicting access or join method hints. The optimizer also considers different permutations of the small tables.
SWAP_JOIN_INPUTS
USE_ANTI
USE_SEMI

Undocumented hints:
BYPASS_RECURSIVE_CHECK
Workaraound for bug 1816154
BYPASS_UJVC
CACHE_CB
CACHE_TEMP_TABLE
CIV_GB
COLLECTIONS_GET_REFS
CUBE_GB
CURSOR_SHARING_EXACT
DEREF_NO_REWRITE
DML_UPDATE
DOMAIN_INDEX_NO_SORT
DOMAIN_INDEX_SORT
DYNAMIC_SAMPLING
DYNAMIC_SAMPLING_EST_CDN
EXPAND_GSET_TO_UNION
FORCE_SAMPLE_BLOCK
GBY_CONC_ROLLUP
GLOBAL_TABLE_HINTS
HWM_BROKERED
IGNORE_ON_CLAUSE
IGNORE_WHERE_CLAUSE
INDEX_RRS
INDEX_SS
INDEX_SS_ASC
INDEX_SS_DESC
LIKE_EXPAND
LOCAL_INDEXES
MV_MERGE
NESTED_TABLE_GET_REFS
NESTED_TABLE_SET_REFS
NESTED_TABLE_SET_SETID
NO_FILTERING
NO_ORDER_ROLLUPS
NO_PRUNE_GSETS
NO_STATS_GSETS
NO_UNNEST
NOCPU_COSTING
OVERFLOW_NOMOVE
PIV_GB
PIV_SSF
PQ_MAP
PQ_NOMAP
REMOTE_MAPPED
RESTORE_AS_INTERVALS
SAVE_AS_INTERVALS
SCN_ASCENDING
SKIP_EXT_OPTIMIZER
SQLLDR
SYS_DL_CURSOR
SYS_PARALLEL_TXN
SYS_RID_ORDER
TIV_GB
TIV_SSF
UNNEST
USE_TTT_FOR_GSETS