diff --git a/datafusion/sql/src/parser.rs b/datafusion/sql/src/parser.rs
index 27bfa32501026..00386fd06ef00 100644
--- a/datafusion/sql/src/parser.rs
+++ b/datafusion/sql/src/parser.rs
@@ -43,6 +43,30 @@ fn parse_file_type(s: &str) -> Result<String, ParserError> {
 }
 
 /// DataFusion extension DDL for `CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE`
+///
+/// Syntax:
+///
+/// ```text
+/// CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE
+/// [ IF NOT EXISTS ]
+/// <TABLE_NAME>[ (<column_definition>) ]
+/// STORED AS <file_type>
+/// [ WITH HEADER ROW ]
+/// [ DELIMITER <char> ]
+/// [ COMPRESSION TYPE <GZIP | BZIP2 | XZ | ZSTD> ]
+/// [ PARTITIONED BY (<column list>) ]
+/// [ WITH ORDER (<ordered column list>)
+/// [ OPTIONS (<key_value_list>) ]
+/// LOCATION <literal>
+///
+/// <column_definition> := (<column_name> <data_type>, ...)
+///
+/// <column_list> := (<column_name>, ...)
+///
+/// <ordered_column_list> := (<column_name> <sort_clause>, ...)
+///
+/// <key_value_list> := (<literal> <literal, <literal> <literal>, ...)
+/// ```
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub struct CreateExternalTable {
     /// Table name
diff --git a/docs/source/user-guide/sql/ddl.md b/docs/source/user-guide/sql/ddl.md
index 45d7d81a0aec1..3bad7596459f2 100644
--- a/docs/source/user-guide/sql/ddl.md
+++ b/docs/source/user-guide/sql/ddl.md
@@ -47,8 +47,41 @@ CREATE SCHEMA cat.emu;
 
 ## CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE
 
-Parquet data sources can be registered by executing a `CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE` SQL statement. It is not necessary
-to provide schema information for Parquet files.
+`CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE` SQL statement registers a location on a local
+file system or remote object store as a named table which can be queried.
+
+The supported syntax is:
+
+```
+CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE
+[ IF NOT EXISTS ]
+<TABLE_NAME>[ (<column_definition>) ]
+STORED AS <file_type>
+[ WITH HEADER ROW ]
+[ DELIMITER <char> ]
+[ COMPRESSION TYPE <GZIP | BZIP2 | XZ | ZSTD> ]
+[ PARTITIONED BY (<column list>) ]
+[ WITH ORDER (<ordered column list>)
+[ OPTIONS (<key_value_list>) ]
+LOCATION <literal>
+
+<column_definition> := (<column_name> <data_type>, ...)
+
+<column_list> := (<column_name>, ...)
+
+<ordered_column_list> := (<column_name> <sort_clause>, ...)
+
+<key_value_list> := (<literal> <literal, <literal> <literal>, ...)
+```
+
+`file_type` is one of `CSV`, `PARQUET`, `AVRO` or `JSON`
+
+`LOCATION <literal>` specfies the location to find the data. It can be
+a path to a file or directory of partitioned files locally or on an
+object store.
+
+Parquet data sources can be registered by executing a `CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE` SQL statement such as the following. It is not necessary to
+provide schema information for Parquet files.
 
 ```sql
 CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE taxi
@@ -56,8 +89,8 @@ STORED AS PARQUET
 LOCATION '/mnt/nyctaxi/tripdata.parquet';
 ```
 
-CSV data sources can also be registered by executing a `CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE` SQL statement. The schema will be
-inferred based on scanning a subset of the file.
+CSV data sources can also be registered by executing a `CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE` SQL statement. The schema will be inferred based on
+scanning a subset of the file.
 
 ```sql
 CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE test
@@ -89,9 +122,20 @@ WITH HEADER ROW
 LOCATION '/path/to/aggregate_test_100.csv';
 ```
 
-When creating an output from a data source that is already ordered by an expression, you can pre-specify the order of
-the data using the `WITH ORDER` clause. This applies even if the expression used for sorting is complex,
-allowing for greater flexibility.
+It is also possible to specify a directory that contains a partitioned
+table (multiple files with the same schema)
+
+```sql
+CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE test
+STORED AS CSV
+WITH HEADER ROW
+LOCATION '/path/to/directory/of/files';
+```
+
+When creating an output from a data source that is already ordered by
+an expression, you can pre-specify the order of the data using the
+`WITH ORDER` clause. This applies even if the expression used for
+sorting is complex, allowing for greater flexibility.
 
 Here's an example of how to use `WITH ORDER` clause.