CSS Selectors

Selector Example Example description CSS
.class .intro Selects all elements with class="intro" 1
#id #firstname Selects the element with id="firstname" 1
* * Selects all elements 2
element p Selects all <p> elements 1
element,element div, p Selects all <div> elements and all <p> elements 1
element element div p Selects all <p> elements inside <div> elements 1
element>element div > p Selects all <p> elements where the parent is a <div> element 2
element+element div + p Selects all <p> elements that are placed immediately after <div> elements 2
element1~element2 p ~ ul Selects every <ul> element that are preceded by a <p> element 3
[attribute] [target] Selects all elements with a target attribute 2
[attribute=value] [target=_blank] Selects all elements with target="_blank" 2
[attribute~=value] [title~=flower] Selects all elements with a title attribute containing the word "flower" 2
[attribute|=value] [lang|=en] Selects all elements with a lang attribute value starting with "en" 2
[attribute^=value] a[href^="https"] Selects every <a> element whose href attribute value begins with "https" 3
[attribute$=value] a[href$=".pdf"] Selects every <a> element whose href attribute value ends with ".pdf" 3
[attribute*=value] a[href*="w3schools"] Selects every <a> element whose href attribute value contains the substring "w3schools" 3
:active a:active Selects the active link 1
::after p::after Insert content after every <p> element 2
::before p::before Insert content before the content of every <p> element 2
:checked input:checked Selects every checked <input> element 3
:disabled input:disabled Selects every disabled <input> element 3
:empty p:empty Selects every <p> element that has no children (including text nodes) 3
:enabled input:enabled Selects every enabled <input> element 3
:first-child p:first-child Selects every <p> element that is the first child of its parent 2
::first-letter p::first-letter Selects the first letter of every <p> element 1
::first-line p::first-line Selects the first line of every <p> element 1
:first-of-type p:first-of-type Selects every <p> element that is the first <p> element of its parent 3
:focus input:focus Selects the input element which has focus 2
:hover a:hover Selects links on mouse over 1
:in-range input:in-range Selects input elements with a value within a specified range 3
:invalid input:invalid Selects all input elements with an invalid value 3
:lang(language) p:lang(it) Selects every <p> element with a lang attribute equal to "it" (Italian) 2
:last-child p:last-child Selects every <p> element that is the last child of its parent 3
:last-of-type p:last-of-type Selects every <p> element that is the last <p> element of its parent 3
:link a:link Selects all unvisited links 1
:not(selector) :not(p) Selects every element that is not a <p> element 3
:nth-child(n) p:nth-child(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent 3
:nth-last-child(n) p:nth-last-child(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second child of its parent, counting from the last child 3
:nth-last-of-type(n) p:nth-last-of-type(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent, counting from the last child 3
:nth-of-type(n) p:nth-of-type(2) Selects every <p> element that is the second <p> element of its parent 3
:only-of-type p:only-of-type Selects every <p> element that is the only <p> element of its parent 3
:only-child p:only-child Selects every <p> element that is the only child of its parent 3
:optional input:optional Selects input elements with no "required" attribute 3
:out-of-range input:out-of-range Selects input elements with a value outside a specified range 3
:read-only input:read-only Selects input elements with the "readonly" attribute specified 3
:read-write input:read-write Selects input elements with the "readonly" attribute NOT specified 3
:required input:required Selects input elements with the "required" attribute specified 3
:root :root Selects the document's root element 3
::selection ::selection Selects the portion of an element that is selected by a user  
:target #news:target Selects the current active #news element (clicked on a URL containing that anchor name) 3
:valid input:valid Selects all input elements with a valid value 3
:visited a:visited Selects all visited links 1