diff --git a/influxql/engine.go b/influxql/engine.go
index 28d83d8805..4ca152e183 100644
--- a/influxql/engine.go
+++ b/influxql/engine.go
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ import (
 	"time"
 )
 
+// how many values we will map before emitting
+const emitBatchSize = 1000
+
 // DB represents an interface for creating transactions.
 type DB interface {
 	Begin() (Tx, error)
@@ -756,6 +759,13 @@ func MapStddev(itr Iterator, e *Emitter, tmax int64) {
 
 	for k, v := itr.Next(); k != 0; k, v = itr.Next() {
 		values = append(values, v.(float64))
+		// Emit in batches.
+		// unbounded emission of data can lead to excessive memory use
+		// or other potential performance problems.
+		if len(values) == emitBatchSize {
+			e.Emit(Key{tmax, itr.Tags()}, values)
+			values = []float64{}
+		}
 	}
 	if len(values) > 0 {
 		e.Emit(Key{tmax, itr.Tags()}, values)