Node.previousSibling

The Node.previousSibling read-only property returns the node immediately preceding the specified one in its parent's childNodes list, or null if the specified node is the first in that list.

Syntax

previousNode = node.previousSibling;

Example

<img id="b0">
<img id="b1">
<img id="b2">

console.log(document.getElementById("b1").previousSibling); // <img id="b0">
console.log(document.getElementById("b2").previousSibling.id); // "b1"

Notes

Gecko-based browsers insert text nodes into a document to represent whitespace in the source markup. Therefore a node obtained, for example, using Node.firstChild or Node.previousSibling may refer to a whitespace text node rather than the actual element the author intended to get.

See Whitespace in the DOM and W3C DOM 3 FAQ: Why are some Text nodes empty? for more information.

To navigate the opposite way through the child nodes list use Node.nextSibling.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
DOM The definition of 'Node.previousSibling' in that specification.	Living Standard	No change
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Core Specification The definition of 'Node.previousSibling' in that specification.	Obsolete	No change
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Core Specification The definition of 'Node.previousSibling' in that specification.	Obsolete	No change
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Specification The definition of 'Node.previousSibling' in that specification.	Obsolete	Initial definition

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
`previousSibling`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support 5.5	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support