Convert PyMongo Cursor to Dataframe

Last Updated : 27 Jan, 2026

In Python, when working with MongoDB using PyMongo, functions like find() and find_one() return a Cursor object. But sometimes we may want to convert this cursor into a Pandas DataFrame for easier data manipulation and analysis. In this article, we will learn how to do this step by step.

Note: Before starting, make sure you have MongoDB, PyMongo and Pandas installed.

Below is the Sample Database used in this article.

sd
Sample Database

Steps to Convert PyMongo Cursor to DataFrame

Step 1: Import Required Modules

Import the necessary Python modules:

Python 
from pymongo import MongoClient
from pandas import DataFrame

Step 2: Connect to MongoDB

Establish a connection to the MongoDB server. By default, MongoDB runs on localhost at port 27017.

Python 
client = MongoClient('localhost', 27017)

Step 3: Access the Database

After connecting, we can select an existing database or create a new one.

Python 
mydatabase = client.GFG

Step 4: Access the Collection

Next, select the collection from which you want to fetch documents.

Python 
mycollection = mydatabase.College

Step 5: Fetch Documents Using Cursor

Use the find() method to retrieve all documents from the collection. This returns a Cursor object.

Python 
cursor = mycollection.find()
print('Type of cursor:', type(cursor))

Step 6: Convert Cursor to Pandas DataFrame

To convert the cursor into a DataFrame, first convert it to a list of dictionaries.

Python 
list_cur = list(cursor)

Now, convert the list into a Pandas DataFrame:

Python 
df = DataFrame(list_cur)
print('Type of df:', type(df))
print(df.head())

Output:

Type of cursor: <class 'pymongo.cursor.Cursor'>
Type of df: <class 'pandas.core.frame.DataFrame'>

_id name Roll No Branch
0 1 Vishwash 1001 CSE
1 2 Vishesh 1002 IT
2 3 Shivam 1003 ME
3 4 Yash 1004 ECE
4 5 Raju 1005 CSE

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Article Tags:
Python
Python-mongoDB

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