Web/HTML/Element/div

The HTML Content Division element (<div>) is the generic container for flow content. It has no effect on the content or layout until styled using CSS.

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

As a "pure" container, the <div> element does not inherently represent anything. Instead, it's used to group content so it can be easily styled using the class or id attributes, marking a section of a document as being written in a different language (using the lang attribute), and so on.

Content categories	Flow content, palpable content.
Permitted content	Flow content. Or (in WHATWG HTML): If the parent is a `<dl>` element: one or more `<dt>` elements followed by one or more `<dd>` elements, optionally intermixed with `<script>` and `<template>` elements.
Tag omission	None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory.
Permitted parents	Any element that accepts flow content. Or (in WHATWG HTML): `<dl>` element.
Implicit ARIA role	No corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles	Any
DOM interface	`HTMLDivElement`

Attributes

This element includes the global attributes.

Note: The align attribute is obsolete; do not use it anymore. Instead, you should use CSS properties or techniques such as CSS Grid or CSS Flexbox to align and position <div> elements on the page.

Usage notes

The <div> element should be used only when no other semantic element (such as <article> or <nav>) is appropriate.

Examples

A simple example

<div>
  <p>Any kind of content here. Such as
  &lt;p&gt;, &lt;table&gt;. You name it!</p>
</div>

The result looks like this:

A styled example

This example creates a shadowed box by applying a style to the <div> using CSS. Note the use of the class attribute on the <div> to apply the style named "shadowbox" to the element.

HTML

<div class="shadowbox">
  <p>Here's a very interesting note displayed in a
  lovely shadowed box.</p>
</div>

CSS

.shadowbox {
  width: 15em;
  border: 1px solid #333;
  box-shadow: 8px 8px 5px #444;
  padding: 8px 12px;
  background-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #fff, #ddd 40%, #ccc);
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<div>' in that specification.	Living Standard	No changes since the latest snapshot
HTML5The definition of '<div>' in that specification.	Recommendation	Obsoleted `align`
HTML 4.01 SpecificationThe definition of '<div>' 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
`div`	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'Non-standard'	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
Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.': Non-standard. Expect poor cross-browser support.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.': Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.