<li>: The List Item element

The <li> HTML element is used to represent an item in a list. It must be contained in a parent element: an ordered list (<ol>), an unordered list (<ul>), or a menu (<menu>). In menus and unordered lists, list items are usually displayed using bullet points. In ordered lists, they are usually displayed with an ascending counter on the left, such as a number or letter.

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Attributes

This element includes the global attributes.

value

This integer attribute indicates the current ordinal value of the list item as defined by the <ol> element. The only allowed value for this attribute is a number, even if the list is displayed with Roman numerals or letters. List items that follow this one continue numbering from the value set. The value attribute has no meaning for unordered lists (<ul>) or for menus (<menu>).

type

This character attribute indicates the numbering type:

  • a: lowercase letters
  • A: uppercase letters
  • i: lowercase Roman numerals
  • I: uppercase Roman numerals
  • 1: numbers

This type overrides the one used by its parent <ol> element, if any.

Note: This attribute has been deprecated; use the CSS list-style-type property instead.

Examples

For more detailed examples, see the <ol> and <ul> pages.

Ordered list

html

<ol>
  <li>first item</li>
  <li>second item</li>
  <li>third item</li>
</ol>

Result

Ordered list with a custom value

html

<ol type="I">
  <li value="3">third item</li>
  <li>fourth item</li>
  <li>fifth item</li>
</ol>

Result

Unordered list

html

<ul>
  <li>first item</li>
  <li>second item</li>
  <li>third item</li>
</ul>

Result

Technical summary

Content categories None.
Permitted content Flow content.
Tag omission The end tag can be omitted if the list item is immediately followed by another <li> element, or if there is no more content in its parent element.
Permitted parents An <ul>, <ol>, or <menu> element. Though not a conforming usage, the obsolete <dir> can also be a parent.
Implicit ARIA role listitem when child of an ol, ul or menu
Permitted ARIA roles menuitem, menuitemcheckbox, menuitemradio, option, none, presentation, radio, separator, tab, treeitem
DOM interface HTMLLIElement

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard
# the-li-element

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also

  • Other list-related HTML Elements: <ul>, <ol>, <menu>, and the obsolete <dir>;
  • CSS properties that may be specially useful to style the <li> element:
    • the list-style property, to choose the way the ordinal is displayed,
    • CSS counters, to handle complex nested lists,
    • the margin property, to control the indent of the list item.