What does the ">" (greater-than sign) CSS selector mean?

Css Problem Overview

For example:

div > p.some_class {
  /* Some declarations */
}

What exactly does the > sign mean?

Css Solutions

Solution 1 - Css

> is the child combinator, sometimes mistakenly called the direct descendant combinator.¹

That means the selector div > p.some_class only matches paragraphs of .some_class that are nested directly inside a div, and not any paragraphs that are nested further within. This implies that every element matching div > p.some_class necessarily also matches div p.some_class, with the descendant combinator (space), so the two are understandably often confused.

An illustration comparing the child combinator with the descendant combinator:

div > p.some_class { 
    background: yellow;
}

div p.some_class { 
    color: red;
}

<div>
    <p class="some_class">Some text here</p>     <!-- [1] div > p.some_class, div p.some_class -->
    <blockquote>
        <p class="some_class">More text here</p> <!-- [2] div p.some_class -->
    </blockquote>
</div>

Which elements are matched by which selectors?

Matched by both div > p.some_class and div p.some_class
This p.some_class is located directly inside the div, hence a parent-child relationship is established between both elements. Since "child" is a type of "descendant", any child element is by definition also a descendant. Therefore, both rules are applied.
Matched by only div p.some_class
This p.some_class is contained by a blockquote within the div, rather than the div itself. Although this p.some_class is a descendant of the div, it's not a child; it's a grandchild. Therefore, only the rule with the descendant combinator in its selector is applied.

¹ _{Many people go further to call it "direct child" or "immediate child", but that's completely unnecessary (and incredibly annoying to me), because a child element is immediate by definition anyway, so they mean the exact same thing. There's no such thing as an "indirect child".}

Solution 2 - Css

> (greater-than sign) is a CSS Combinator.

>A combinator is something that explains the relationship between the selectors.

A CSS selector can contain more than one simple selector. Between the simple selectors, we can include a combinator.

There are four different combinators in CSS3:

descendant selector (space)
child selector (>)
adjacent sibling selector (+)
general sibling selector (~)

Note: < is not valid in CSS selectors.

For example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
div > p {
    background-color: yellow;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<div>
  <p>Paragraph 1 in the div.</p>
  <p>Paragraph 2 in the div.</p>
  <span><p>Paragraph 3 in the div.</p></span> <!-- not Child but Descendant -->
</div>

<p>Paragraph 4. Not in a div.</p>
<p>Paragraph 5. Not in a div.</p>

</body>
</html>

Output:

More information about CSS Combinators

Solution 3 - Css

As others mention, it's a child selector. Here's the appropriate link.

http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/selector.html#child-selectors

Solution 4 - Css

It matches p elements with class some_class that are directly under a div.

Solution 5 - Css

All p tags with class some_class which are direct children of a div tag.

Solution 6 - Css

> ( child selector) was introduced in css2. div p{ } select all p elements decedent of div elements, whereas div > p selects only child p elements, not grand child, great grand child on so on.

<style>
  div p{  color:red  }       /* match both p*/
  div > p{  color:blue  }    /* match only first p*/

</style>

<div>
   <p>para tag, child and decedent of p.</p>
   <ul>
       <li>
            <p>para inside list. </p>
       </li>
   </ul>
</div>

For more information on CSS Ce[lectors and their use, check my blog, css selectors and css3 selectors

Solution 7 - Css

html

<div>
    <p class="some_class">lohrem text (it will be of red color )</p>    
    <div>
        <p class="some_class">lohrem text (it will  NOT be of red color)</p> 
    </div>
    <p class="some_class">lohrem text (it will be  of red color )</p>
</div>

css

div > p.some_class{
    color:red;
}

All the direct children that are <p> with .some_class would get the style applied to them.

Solution 8 - Css

The greater sign ( > ) selector in CSS means that the selector on the right is a direct descendant / child of whatever is on the left.

An example:

article > p { }

Means only style a paragraph that comes after an article.

Content Type	Original Author	Original Content on Stackoverflow
Question	Misha Moroshko	View Question on Stackoverflow
Solution 1 - Css	BoltClock	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 2 - Css	Premraj	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 3 - Css	Dagg Nabbit	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 4 - Css	dan04	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 5 - Css	tschaible	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 6 - Css	Avinash Malhotra	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 7 - Css	Suraj Rawat	View Answer on Stackoverflow
Solution 8 - Css	authentichigh	View Answer on Stackoverflow