Web/API/HTMLSelectElement/selectedIndex

The HTMLSelectElement.selectedIndex is a long that reflects the index of the first or last selected <option> element, depending on the value of multiple. The value -1 indicates that no element is selected.

Syntax

var index = selectElem.selectedIndex;
selectElem.selectedIndex = index;

Example

HTML

<p id="p">selectedIndex: 0</p>

<select id="select">
  <option selected>Option A</option>
  <option>Option B</option>
  <option>Option C</option>
  <option>Option D</option>
  <option>Option E</option>
</select>

JavaScript

var selectElem = document.getElementById('select')
var pElem = document.getElementById('p')

// When a new <option> is selected
selectElem.addEventListener('change', function() {
  var index = selectElem.selectedIndex;
  // Add that data to the <p>
  pElem.innerHTML = 'selectedIndex: ' + index;
})

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'HTMLSelectElement' in that specification.	Living Standard	No change since the latest snapshot, HTML5.
HTML5The definition of 'HTMLSelectElement' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition, snapshot of HTML Living Standard.

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
selectedIndex	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE ?	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support  

Full support

Compatibility unknown  

Compatibility unknown

HTMLSelectElement.selectedIndex by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.