The :nth-last-child() CSS pseudo-class matches elements based on their position among a group of siblings, counting from the end.

/* Selects every fourth element    among any group of siblings,    counting backwards from the last one */ :nth-last-child(4n) {   color: lime; } 

:nth-last-child()

The :nth-last-child() CSS pseudo-class matches elements based on their position among a group of siblings, counting from the end.

/* Selects every fourth element    among any group of siblings,    counting backwards from the last one */ :nth-last-child(4n) {   color: lime; } 

Note: This pseudo-class is essentially the same as :nth-child, except it counts items backwards from the end, not forwards from the beginning.

Syntax

The nth-last-child pseudo-class is specified with a single argument, which represents the pattern for matching elements, counting from the end.

Keyword values

odd

Represents elements whose numeric position in a series of siblings is odd: 1, 3, 5, etc., counting from the end.

even

Represents elements whose numeric position in a series of siblings is even: 2, 4, 6, etc., counting from the end.

Functional notation

<An+B>

Represents elements whose numeric position in a series of siblings matches the pattern An+B, for every positive integer or zero value of n. The index of the first element, counting from the end, is 1. The values A and B must both be <integer>s.

Formal syntax

:nth-last-child( <nth> [ of <complex-selector-list> ]? )
where <nth> = <an-plus-b> | even | odd<complex-selector-list> = <complex-selector>#
where <complex-selector> = <compound-selector> [ <combinator>? <compound-selector> ]*
where <compound-selector> = [ <type-selector>? <subclass-selector>* [ <pseudo-element-selector> <pseudo-class-selector>* ]* ]!<combinator> = '>' | '+' | '~' | [ '||' ]
where <type-selector> = <wq-name> | <ns-prefix>? '*'<subclass-selector> = <id-selector> | <class-selector> | <attribute-selector> | <pseudo-class-selector><pseudo-element-selector> = ':' <pseudo-class-selector><pseudo-class-selector> = ':' <ident-token> | ':' <function-token> <any-value> ')'
where <wq-name> = <ns-prefix>? <ident-token><ns-prefix> = [ <ident-token> | '*' ]?  | <id-selector> = <hash-token><class-selector> = '.' <ident-token><attribute-selector> = '[' <wq-name> ']' | '[' <wq-name> <attr-matcher> [ <string-token> | <ident-token> ] <attr-modifier>? ']'
where <attr-matcher> = [ '~' |  |  | '^' | '$' | '*' ]? '='<attr-modifier> = i | s

Examples

Example selectors

tr:nth-last-child(odd) or tr:nth-last-child(2n+1)

Represents the odd rows of an HTML table: 1, 3, 5, etc., counting from the end.

tr:nth-last-child(even) or tr:nth-last-child(2n)

Represents the even rows of an HTML table: 2, 4, 6, etc., counting from the end.

:nth-last-child(7)

Represents the seventh element, counting from the end.

:nth-last-child(5n)

Represents elements 5, 10, 15, etc., counting from the end.

:nth-last-child(3n+4)

Represents elements 4, 7, 10, 13, etc., counting from the end.

:nth-last-child(-n+3)

Represents the last three elements among a group of siblings.

p:nth-last-child(n) or p:nth-last-child(n+1)

Represents every <p> element among a group of siblings. This is the same as a simple p selector. (Since n starts at zero, while the last element begins at one, n and n+1 will both select the same elements.)

p:nth-last-child(1) or p:nth-last-child(0n+1)

Represents every <p> that is the first element among a group of siblings, counting from the end. This is the same as the :last-child selector.

Table example

HTML

<table>   <tbody>     <tr>       <td>First line</td>     </tr>     <tr>       <td>Second line</td>     </tr>     <tr>       <td>Third line</td>     </tr>     <tr>       <td>Fourth line</td>     </tr>     <tr>       <td>Fifth line</td>     </tr>   </tbody> </table> 

CSS

table {   border: 1px solid blue; }  /* Selects the last three elements */ tr:nth-last-child(-n+3) {   background-color: pink; }  /* Selects every element starting from the second to last item */ tr:nth-last-child(n+2) {   color: blue; }  /* Select only the last second element */ tr:nth-last-child(2) {   font-weight: 600; } 

Result

Quantity query

A quantity query styles elements depending on how many of them there are. In this example, list items turn red when there are at least three of them in a given list. This is accomplished by combining the capabilities of the nth-last-child pseudo-class and the general sibling combinator.

HTML

<h4>A list of four items (styled):</h4> <ol>   <li>One</li>   <li>Two</li>   <li>Three</li>   <li>Four</li> </ol>  <h4>A list of two items (unstyled):</h4> <ol>   <li>One</li>   <li>Two</li> </ol> 

CSS

/* If there are at least three list items,    style them all */ li:nth-last-child(n+3), li:nth-last-child(3) ~ li {   color: red; } 

Result

Specifications

Specification
Selectors Level 4 # nth-last-child-pseudo

See also

:nth-child, :nth-last-of-type Quantity Queries for CSS Select your preferred language English (US)EspañolFrançais日本語Português (do Brasil)Русский中文 (简体) Change language