Web/API/Node/replaceChild

The Node.replaceChild() method replaces a child node within the given (parent) node.

Note the idiosyncratic argument order (new before old). ChildNode.replaceWith() may be easier to read and use.

Syntax

let oldChild = parentNode.replaceChild(newChild, oldChild);

Parameters

newChild: The new node to replace oldChild. If it already exists in the DOM, it is first removed.
oldChild: The child to be replaced.

Return value

The returned value is the replaced node. This is the same node as oldChild.

Example

// Given:
// <div>
//  <span id="childSpan">foo bar</span>
// </div>

// Create an empty element node
// without an ID, any attributes, or any content
var sp1 = document.createElement("span");

// Give it an id attribute called 'newSpan'
sp1.id = "newSpan";

// Create some content for the new element.
var sp1_content = document.createTextNode("new replacement span element.");

// Apply that content to the new element
sp1.appendChild(sp1_content);

// Build a reference to the existing node to be replaced
var sp2 = document.getElementById("childSpan");
var parentDiv = sp2.parentNode;

// Replace existing node sp2 with the new span element sp1
parentDiv.replaceChild(sp1, sp2);

// Result:
// <div>
//   <span id="newSpan">new replacement span element.</span>
// </div>

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
DOMThe definition of 'Node: replaceChild' in that specification.	Living Standard

Browser compatibility

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
`replaceChild`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 9	Opera Full support 7	Safari Full support 1.1	WebView Android Full support 1	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support