jQuery :nth-last-child() Selector

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025

The jQuery :nth-last-child() selector is used to select all elements that are the n^th last child of their parent. The counting of elements starts from the last element.

Syntax:

:nth-last-child( n | even | odd | formula )

Parameters: The :nth-last-child() selector contain parameters which are listed below:

n: It holds the child index number of the selected elements. The counting starts from the end. The index number of the first child is 1.
even: It selects all even child elements.
odd: It selects all odd child elements.
formula: It is used to specify the formula to select the child element. The formula can be in form of (an + b).

Below examples illustrate the :nth-last-child() selector in jQuery:

Example 1: This example changes the background color to green and text color to the white of the second last heading of their parents (div tags).

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  
<head>
    <title>
        jQuery :nth-last-child() Selector
    </title>
    <script src=
"https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js">
    </script>
    
    <!-- Script to use nth-last-child selector -->
    <script>
        $(document).ready(function () {
            $("h4:nth-last-child(2)").css({
                "background-color": "green",
                "color": "white"
            });
        });
    </script>
  
    <style>
        option {
            font-weight: bold;
            font-size: 25px;
            color: green;
        }
        select {
            font-weight: bold;
            font-size: 25px;
            color: green;
        }
    </style>
</head>
  
<body style="text-align:center;">
    <h1>
        jQuery | :nth-last-child() Selector
    </h1>
    <div style="border: 1px solid blue;">
        <h4>The first heading in first div.</h4>
        <h4>The second last heading in first div.</h4>
        <h4>The last heading in first div.</h4>
    </div><br>
    <div style="border: 1px solid blue;">
        <h4>The first heading in second div.</h4>
        <h4>The second last heading in first div.</h4>
        <h4>The last heading in second div.</h4>
    </div>
</body>
  
</html>

Output:

Example 2: This example changes the background color to green and the text color to white of the second last heading of the <body> tag.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  
<head>
    <title>
        jQuery :nth-last-child() Selector
    </title>
    <script src=
"https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js">
    </script>
    
    <!-- Script to use nth-last-child selector -->
    <script>
        $(document).ready(function () {
            $("h4:nth-last-child(3)").css({
                "background-color": "green",
                "color": "white"
            });
        });
    </script>
  
    <style>
        option {
            font-weight: bold;
            font-size: 25px;
            color: green;
        }
        select {
            font-weight: bold;
            font-size: 25px;
            color: green;
        }
    </style>
</head>
  
<body style="text-align:center;">
    <h1>
        jQuery | :nth-last-child() Selector
    </h1>
    <div style="border: 1px solid blue;">
        <h4>The first heading in first div.</h4>
        <h4>The second last heading in first div.</h4>
        <h4>The last heading in first div.</h4>
    </div><br>
    <div style="border: 1px solid blue;">
        <h4>The first heading in second div.</h4>
        <h4>The second last heading in first div.</h4>
        <h4>The last heading in second div.</h4>
    </div>
</body>
  
</html>