>>> a = np.array([9, 4, 4, 3, 3, 9, 0, 4, 6, 0]) array([9, 4, 4, 3, 3, 9, 0, 4, 6, 0]) >>> ind = np.argpartition(a, -4)[-4:] array([1, 5, 8, 0]) >>> top4 = a[ind] array([4, 9, 6, 9])