my @values = qw(...); my $sql = q{ insert table ( col1 , col2 , ... ) values }; $sql .= '(' . join(',', ('?') x scalar(@values)) . ')'; my $sth = $dbh->prepare($sql) or die "Couldn't prepare $sql: $DBI::errstr"; $sth->execute(@values) or die "Couldn't execute $sql: $DBI::errstr";