The INSERT statement is used to add new rows of data to a table. There are two ways to insert data: 1) directly inserting values into the table columns, and 2) inserting data selected from another table. The syntax for a direct insert specifies the table name and lists the column names and values to insert in parentheses. An insert can also populate a table from the results of a SELECT query on another table, as long as the column names and types match. Data type compatibility and integrity constraints must be followed for successful inserts.