diff --git a/datasette/static/app.css b/datasette/static/app.css
index d101e4b7..79fb1a73 100644
--- a/datasette/static/app.css
+++ b/datasette/static/app.css
@@ -497,7 +497,10 @@ table.rows-and-columns td em {
     color: #aaa;
 }
 table.rows-and-columns th {
+    background: #F8FAFB;
     padding-right: 1em;
+    position: relative;
+    z-index: 1;
 }
 table.rows-and-columns a:link {
     text-decoration: none;
diff --git a/datasette/static/table.js b/datasette/static/table.js
index 74a96d8e..2bc9fda6 100644
--- a/datasette/static/table.js
+++ b/datasette/static/table.js
@@ -506,6 +506,45 @@ function renderActionLink(itemConfig) {
   return newLink;
 }
 
+function initializeStickyTableHeader(tableWrapper) {
+  var table = tableWrapper.querySelector("table.rows-and-columns");
+  var tableHead = table && table.querySelector("thead");
+  if (!tableHead || !window.requestAnimationFrame) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  var animationFrame = null;
+  function updatePosition() {
+    animationFrame = null;
+    if (window.matchMedia("(max-width: 576px)").matches) {
+      tableHead.style.transform = "";
+      return;
+    }
+    // overflow-x: auto makes tableWrapper the sticky scroll container, even
+    // though the page handles vertical scrolling. Counter the page scroll so
+    // the real header stays aligned with both the viewport and the table.
+    var wrapperTop = tableWrapper.getBoundingClientRect().top;
+    var maximumOffset = Math.max(
+      0,
+      table.offsetHeight - tableHead.offsetHeight,
+    );
+    var offset = Math.min(Math.max(-wrapperTop, 0), maximumOffset);
+    tableHead.style.transform = offset
+      ? `translateY(${offset}px)`
+      : "";
+  }
+
+  function queuePositionUpdate() {
+    if (animationFrame === null) {
+      animationFrame = window.requestAnimationFrame(updatePosition);
+    }
+  }
+
+  window.addEventListener("scroll", queuePositionUpdate, { passive: true });
+  window.addEventListener("resize", queuePositionUpdate);
+  queuePositionUpdate();
+}
+
 /** Main initialization function for Datasette Table interactions */
 const initDatasetteTable = function (manager) {
   // Feature detection
@@ -521,6 +560,7 @@ const initDatasetteTable = function (manager) {
   if (tableWrapper) {
     tableWrapper.addEventListener("scroll", closeMenu);
   }
+  window.addEventListener("scroll", closeMenu, { passive: true });
   document.body.addEventListener("click", (ev) => {
     /* was this click outside the menu? */
     var target = ev.target;
@@ -631,6 +671,9 @@ const initDatasetteTable = function (manager) {
     icon.addEventListener("click", onTableHeaderClick);
     th.appendChild(icon);
   });
+  if (tableWrapper) {
+    initializeStickyTableHeader(tableWrapper);
+  }
 };
 
 function filterRowSelector(manager) {
diff --git a/tests/test_playwright.py b/tests/test_playwright.py
index eb1edb57..ab9d3568 100644
--- a/tests/test_playwright.py
+++ b/tests/test_playwright.py
@@ -410,6 +410,29 @@ def test_datasette_homepage_contains_datasette(page, datasette_server):
     assert "Datasette" in page.locator("body").inner_text()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.playwright
+def test_table_header_stays_visible_while_scrolling(page, datasette_server):
+    page.set_viewport_size({"width": 600, "height": 400})
+    page.goto(f"{datasette_server}fixtures/sortable?_size=100")
+
+    wrapper = page.locator(".table-wrapper")
+    header = wrapper.locator("table.rows-and-columns th").first
+    assert wrapper.evaluate("node => node.scrollWidth > node.clientWidth")
+
+    wrapper.evaluate("""node => window.scrollTo(
+            0,
+            node.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.scrollY + 100
+        )""")
+    page.wait_for_function("""() => Math.abs(document.querySelector(
+            'table.rows-and-columns th'
+        ).getBoundingClientRect().top) < 1""")
+    assert abs(header.bounding_box()["y"]) < 1
+
+    wrapper.evaluate("node => node.scrollLeft = 100")
+    assert wrapper.evaluate("node => node.scrollLeft") == 100
+    assert abs(header.bounding_box()["y"]) < 1
+
+
 @pytest.mark.playwright
 def test_create_table_flow(page, datasette_server):
     page.goto(f"{datasette_server}data")