jQuery Selectors and examples

Selector	Example	Description
List accurate as of jQuery 1.3
*	$(’*');	This selector is a wild card method and will select all elements in a document.
#id	$(’#id’);	This selector selects an element with the given ID.
.class	$(’.class’)	The class selector will gather all elements in the document with the given class name
element	$(’element’)	This selector will collect all elements in a document with the given tag name i.e. table, ul, li, a etc.
a, b, c. … n	$(’th, td, .class, #id’)	This method can use multiple selection patterns to collect elements.
parent child	$(’li a’)	This will select all “a” elements that are a descendant of “li”
a > b	$(’table > tr’);	This will select all b elements which are a child element of a or in our example all tr elements in a table or tables.
a + b	$(’li + a’);	This will select all “a” elements that are an immediate descendant of “li” in our example.
a ~ b	$(’p ~ ul’);	This selector will select all “ul” elements that are a sibling of “p”
:first	$(’ul li:first’);	Returns the first element in a result set
:first-child	$(’ul li:first-child’);	Returns the first child element of the parent element.
:last	$(’ul li:last’);	Returns the last element in a result set
:last-child	$(’ul li:last-child’);	Returns the last child element of the parent element.
:only-child	$(’div p:only-child’);	Returns elements which are the only child of the parent element.
:not(a)	$(’input:not(:checked)’);	Returns all elements that are not “a” on in our example all input elements that are not checked
:has(a)	$(’div:has(p)’);	Returns all elements with a descendant that matches a in out example a “div” that contains a “p”.
:odd	$(’ul li:odd’);	Returns all odd elements in a result set (zero based)
:even	$(’ul li:even’);	Returns all even elements in a result set (zero based)
:eq(n)	$(’ul li:eq(n)’);	Returns a numbered element identified by n (zero based)
:gt(n)	$(’ul li:gt(n)’);	Returns all elements in a result set greater than n (zero based)
:lt(n)	$(’ul li:lt(n)’);	Returns all elements in a result set less than n (zero based)
:nth-child(n)	$(’ul li:nth-child(n)’);	Returns the nth child in a result set (one based)
:nth-child(odd)	$(’ul li:nth-child(odd)’);	Returns all odd numbered elements in a result set (one based)
:nth-child(even)	$(’ul li:nth-child(even)’);	Returns all even numbered elements in a result set (one based)
:nth-child(formula)	$(’ul li:nth-child(3n)’);	Returns every nth child in a result set. In our example every third child (one based)
:header	$(’:header’);	Returns all heading elements e.g. h1, h2, etc.
:animated	$(’ul:animated’);	Returns elements with an animation currently in progress
:contains(text)	$(’:contains(hello)’);	Returns all elements containing the passed string
:empty	$(’:empty’);	Returns all elements that contain no child nodes
:parent	$(’li:parent’);	Returns all elements that a parent nodes to any other DOM element including text nodes.
:hidden	$(’ul:hidden’);	Returns all hidden elements that are hidden with CSS or input fields of the type “hidden”
:visible	$(’ul:visible’);	Returns all visible elements
[attribute]	$(’[href]‘);	Returns all elements that contain the passed attribute in our example any element with a “href” attribute
[attribute=value]	$(’[rel=external]‘);	Returns all elements that the passed attribute value is equal to the passed value. In our example ant element with a “rel” attribute equal to “external”
['attribute!=value']	$(’[rel!=external]‘);	Returns all elements that the passed attribute value is not equal to the passed value. In our example ant element with a “rel” attribute that is not equal to “external”
[attribute!=value]	$(’[class^=open]‘);	Returns all elements that the passed attribute value start with the passed value. In our example any element thats “class” attribute value begins with “open”
[attribute$=value]	$(’[id$=-wrapper]‘);	Returns all elements that the passed attribute value ends with the passed value. In our example any element whos “id” ends with “-wrapper”
[attribute*=value]	$(’[class*=offer]‘);	Returns all elements that the passed attribute value contains the passed value. In our example any element whos “class” contains the string “offer”
:input	$(’:input’);	Returns only input elements of the tag name input, select, textarea and button
:text	$(’:text’);	Returns only input elements of the type “text”
:password	$(’:password’);	Returns only input elements of the type “password”
:radio	$(’:radio’);	Returns only input elements of the type “radio”
:checkbox	$(’:checkbox’);	Returns only input elements of the type “checkbox”
:submit	$(’:submit’);	Returns only input elements of the type “submit”
:image	$(’:image’);	Returns only input elements of the type “image”
:reset	$(’:reset’);	Returns only input elements of the type “reset”
:file	$(’:file’);	Returns only input elements of the type “file”
:button	$(’:button’);	Returns only input elements of the type “button”
:enabled	$(’:enabled’);	Returns all enabled input elements
:selected	$(’:selected’);	Returns the selected element in a select list.
:disabled	$(’:disabled’);	Returns disabled input elements
:checked	$(’:checked’);	Returns checked input elements of the type radio or checkbox.