A better way to do it, is the TheHe meantioned, with `amsmath`: \documentclass{article} \usepackage{amsmath} \begin{document} \[ M= \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5\ 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7\ \end{bmatrix} \] \end{document} The `bmatrix` environment will give you `[]` braces. `()` braces are also very common. They are created with the `pmatrix` environment. To include a matrix inline, you can write: $M = \left\[ \begin{smallmatrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{smallmatrix} \right\]$