diff --git a/datafusion/expr/src/logical_plan/builder.rs b/datafusion/expr/src/logical_plan/builder.rs
index 95c6010a34c56..e9f41670bd7a9 100644
--- a/datafusion/expr/src/logical_plan/builder.rs
+++ b/datafusion/expr/src/logical_plan/builder.rs
@@ -1931,10 +1931,12 @@ fn project_with_validation(
     expr: impl IntoIterator<Item = (impl Into<SelectExpr>, bool)>,
 ) -> Result<LogicalPlan> {
     let mut projected_expr = vec![];
+    let mut has_wildcard = false;
     for (e, validate) in expr {
         let e = e.into();
         match e {
             SelectExpr::Wildcard(opt) => {
+                has_wildcard = true;
                 let expanded = expand_wildcard(plan.schema(), &plan, Some(&opt))?;
 
                 // If there is a REPLACE statement, replace that column with the given
@@ -1955,6 +1957,7 @@ fn project_with_validation(
                 }
             }
             SelectExpr::QualifiedWildcard(table_ref, opt) => {
+                has_wildcard = true;
                 let expanded =
                     expand_qualified_wildcard(&table_ref, plan.schema(), Some(&opt))?;
 
@@ -1984,6 +1987,12 @@ fn project_with_validation(
             }
         }
     }
+    if has_wildcard && projected_expr.is_empty() && !plan.schema().fields().is_empty() {
+        return plan_err!(
+            "SELECT list is empty after resolving * expressions, \
+             the wildcard expanded to zero columns"
+        );
+    }
     validate_unique_names("Projections", projected_expr.iter())?;
 
     Projection::try_new(projected_expr, Arc::new(plan)).map(LogicalPlan::Projection)
diff --git a/datafusion/sqllogictest/test_files/select.slt b/datafusion/sqllogictest/test_files/select.slt
index f37ec2233d429..3e97dc4588655 100644
--- a/datafusion/sqllogictest/test_files/select.slt
+++ b/datafusion/sqllogictest/test_files/select.slt
@@ -1318,25 +1318,25 @@ statement error
 SELECT * EXCLUDE(a, a)
 FROM table1
 
-# if EXCEPT all the columns, query should still succeed but return empty
-statement ok
+# if EXCEPT all the columns, query should return an error
+statement error DataFusion error: Error during planning: SELECT list is empty after resolving \* expressions, the wildcard expanded to zero columns
 SELECT * EXCEPT(a, b, c, d)
 FROM table1
 
-# try zero column with LIMIT, 1 row but empty
-statement ok
+# try zero column with LIMIT, should error
+statement error DataFusion error: Error during planning: SELECT list is empty after resolving \* expressions, the wildcard expanded to zero columns
 SELECT * EXCEPT (a, b, c, d)
 FROM table1
 LIMIT 1
 
-# try zero column with GROUP BY, 2 row but empty
-statement ok
+# try zero column with GROUP BY, should error
+statement error DataFusion error: Error during planning: SELECT list is empty after resolving \* expressions, the wildcard expanded to zero columns
 SELECT * EXCEPT (a, b, c, d)
 FROM table1
 GROUP BY a
 
-# try zero column with WHERE, 1 row but empty
-statement ok
+# try zero column with WHERE, should error
+statement error DataFusion error: Error during planning: SELECT list is empty after resolving \* expressions, the wildcard expanded to zero columns
 SELECT * EXCEPT (a, b, c, d)
 FROM table1
 WHERE a = 1
@@ -1352,15 +1352,15 @@ CREATE TABLE table2 (
   (1, 10, 100, 1000),
   (2, 20, 200, 2000);
 
-# try zero column with inner JOIN, 2 row but empty
-statement ok
+# try zero column with inner JOIN, should error
+statement error DataFusion error: Error during planning: SELECT list is empty after resolving \* expressions, the wildcard expanded to zero columns
 WITH t1 AS (SELECT a AS t1_a FROM table1), t2 AS (SELECT a AS t2_a FROM table2)
 SELECT * EXCEPT (t1_a, t2_a)
 FROM t1
 JOIN t2 ON (t1_a = t2_a)
 
-# try zero column with more JOIN, 2 row but empty
-statement ok
+# try zero column with more JOIN, should error
+statement error DataFusion error: Error during planning: SELECT list is empty after resolving \* expressions, the wildcard expanded to zero columns
 SELECT * EXCEPT (b1, b2)
 FROM (
   SELECT b AS b1 FROM table1
@@ -1369,8 +1369,8 @@ JOIN (
   SELECT b AS b2 FROM table2
 ) ON b1 = b2
 
-# try zero column with Window, 2 row but empty
-statement ok
+# try zero column with Window, should error
+statement error DataFusion error: Error during planning: SELECT list is empty after resolving \* expressions, the wildcard expanded to zero columns
 SELECT * EXCEPT (a, b, row_num)
 FROM (
     SELECT