diff --git a/lib/database.js b/lib/database.js
index acd5b59d..5b927a20 100644
--- a/lib/database.js
+++ b/lib/database.js
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ const wrappers = require('./methods/wrappers');
 Database.prototype.prepare = wrappers.prepare;
 Database.prototype.transaction = require('./methods/transaction');
 Database.prototype.pragma = require('./methods/pragma');
+Database.prototype.explain = require('./methods/explain');
 Database.prototype.backup = require('./methods/backup');
 Database.prototype.serialize = require('./methods/serialize');
 Database.prototype.function = require('./methods/function');
diff --git a/lib/methods/explain.js b/lib/methods/explain.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..806ddafc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/methods/explain.js
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+'use strict';
+
+module.exports = function explain(sql) {
+	if (typeof sql !== 'string') throw new TypeError('Expected first argument to be a string');
+	
+	// Prepend EXPLAIN if not already present
+	const explainSql = sql.trim().toUpperCase().startsWith('EXPLAIN') 
+		? sql 
+		: `EXPLAIN ${sql}`;
+	
+	// Prepare the statement normally
+	const stmt = this.prepare(explainSql);
+	
+	// For EXPLAIN statements, we don't need actual parameter values
+	// We'll try to execute without parameters first
+	try {
+		return stmt.all();
+	} catch (e) {
+		// Handle parameter errors by binding nulls
+		if (e.message && (e.message.includes('Too few parameter') || e.message.includes('Missing named parameter'))) {
+			// Extract named parameters from the SQL
+			const namedParams = sql.match(/:(\w+)|@(\w+)|\$(\w+)/g);
+			
+			if (namedParams && namedParams.length > 0) {
+				// Build an object with null values for all named parameters
+				const params = {};
+				for (const param of namedParams) {
+					const name = param.substring(1); // Remove the :, @, or $ prefix
+					params[name] = null;
+				}
+				return stmt.all(params);
+			}
+			
+			// For positional parameters, use binary search
+			let low = 1;
+			let high = 100; // Reasonable maximum
+			
+			while (low <= high) {
+				const mid = Math.floor((low + high) / 2);
+				try {
+					return stmt.all(Array(mid).fill(null));
+				} catch (err) {
+					if (err.message && err.message.includes('Too few')) {
+						low = mid + 1;
+					} else if (err.message && err.message.includes('Too many')) {
+						high = mid - 1;
+					} else {
+						throw err;
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		throw e;
+	}
+};
+
diff --git a/test/15.database.explain.js b/test/15.database.explain.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1475d994
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/15.database.explain.js
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+'use strict';
+const Database = require('../lib');
+
+describe('Database#explain()', function () {
+	beforeEach(function () {
+		this.db = new Database(util.next());
+		this.db.exec('CREATE TABLE entries (a TEXT, b INTEGER, c REAL)');
+		this.db.exec("INSERT INTO entries VALUES ('foo', 1, 3.14), ('bar', 2, 2.71)");
+	});
+	afterEach(function () {
+		this.db.close();
+	});
+
+	it('should throw an exception if a string is not provided', function () {
+		expect(() => this.db.explain(123)).to.throw(TypeError);
+		expect(() => this.db.explain(0)).to.throw(TypeError);
+		expect(() => this.db.explain(null)).to.throw(TypeError);
+		expect(() => this.db.explain()).to.throw(TypeError);
+		expect(() => this.db.explain(new String('SELECT * FROM entries'))).to.throw(TypeError);
+	});
+
+	it('should execute a simple EXPLAIN query without parameters', function () {
+		const plan = this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM entries');
+		expect(plan).to.be.an('array');
+		expect(plan.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
+		expect(plan[0]).to.be.an('object');
+		// EXPLAIN output should have columns like 'addr', 'opcode', 'p1', 'p2', 'p3', 'p4', 'p5', 'comment'
+		expect(plan[0]).to.have.property('opcode');
+	});
+
+	it('should work with EXPLAIN already in the SQL', function () {
+		const plan1 = this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM entries');
+		const plan2 = this.db.explain('EXPLAIN SELECT * FROM entries');
+		expect(plan1).to.deep.equal(plan2);
+	});
+
+	it('should work with EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN', function () {
+		const plan = this.db.explain("EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN SELECT * FROM entries WHERE a = 'foo'");
+		expect(plan).to.be.an('array');
+		expect(plan.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
+		expect(plan[0]).to.be.an('object');
+	});
+
+	it('should handle queries with parameters without throwing errors', function () {
+		// This is the key fix - EXPLAIN with parameters should work
+		const plan1 = this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM entries WHERE a = ?');
+		expect(plan1).to.be.an('array');
+		expect(plan1.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
+
+		const plan2 = this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM entries WHERE a = :name AND b = :value');
+		expect(plan2).to.be.an('array');
+		expect(plan2.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
+	});
+
+	it('should handle complex queries with multiple parameters', function () {
+		const plan = this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM entries WHERE a = ? AND b > ? AND c < ?');
+		expect(plan).to.be.an('array');
+		expect(plan.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
+	});
+
+	it('should work with JOIN queries', function () {
+		this.db.exec('CREATE TABLE users (id INTEGER, name TEXT)');
+		const plan = this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM entries JOIN users ON entries.b = users.id WHERE users.name = ?');
+		expect(plan).to.be.an('array');
+		expect(plan.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
+	});
+
+	it('should throw an exception for invalid SQL', function () {
+		expect(() => this.db.explain('INVALID SQL')).to.throw(Database.SqliteError);
+		expect(() => this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM nonexistent')).to.throw(Database.SqliteError);
+	});
+
+	it('should work with case insensitive EXPLAIN', function () {
+		const plan1 = this.db.explain('explain SELECT * FROM entries');
+		const plan2 = this.db.explain('ExPlAiN SELECT * FROM entries');
+		const plan3 = this.db.explain('EXPLAIN SELECT * FROM entries');
+		expect(plan1.length).to.equal(plan2.length);
+		expect(plan2.length).to.equal(plan3.length);
+	});
+
+	it('should respect readonly connections', function () {
+		this.db.close();
+		this.db = new Database(util.current(), { readonly: true, fileMustExist: true });
+		const plan = this.db.explain('SELECT * FROM entries WHERE a = ?');
+		expect(plan).to.be.an('array');
+		expect(plan.length).to.be.greaterThan(0);
+	});
+});
+