Web/HTML/Element/caption

The HTML <caption> element specifies the caption (or title) of a table.

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Content categories	None.
Permitted content	Flow content.
Tag omission	The end tag can be omitted if the element is not immediately followed by ASCII whitespace or a comment.
Permitted parents	A `<table>` element, as its first descendant.
Implicit ARIA role	No corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles	No `role` permitted
DOM interface	`HTMLTableCaptionElement`

Attributes

This element includes the global attributes.

Deprecated attributes

The following attributes are deprecated and should not be used. They are documented below for reference when updating existing code and for historical interest only.

align '

This enumerated attribute indicates how the caption must be aligned with respect to the table. It may have one of the following values:

left: The caption is displayed to the left of the table.
top: The caption is displayed above the table.
right: The caption is displayed to the right of the table.
bottom: The caption is displayed below the table.

Usage note: Do not use this attribute, as it has been deprecated. The <caption> element should be styled using the CSS properties caption-side and text-align.

Usage notes

The <caption> element should be the first child of its parent <table> element.

When the <table> element that contains the <caption> is the only descendant of a <figure> element, you should use the <figcaption> element instead of <caption>.

Example

This simple example presents a table that includes a caption.

<table>
  <caption>Example Caption</caption>
  <tr>
    <th>Login</th>
    <th>Email</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>user1</td>
    <td>[email protected]</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>user2</td>
    <td>[email protected]</td>
  </tr>
</table>

caption { 
  caption-side: top;
  align: right;
}
table { 
  border-collapse: collapse;
  border-spacing: 0px; 
}
table, th, td { 
  border: 1px solid black; 
}

table {background: red;} do not alter caption. For that you need display: block.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<caption>' in that specification.	Living Standard
HTML5The definition of '<caption>' in that specification.	Recommendation
HTML 4.01 SpecificationThe definition of '<caption>' in that specification.	Recommendation

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
`caption`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`align` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.': Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.