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vertical-align

The vertical-align CSS property specifies the vertical alignment of an inline or table-cell box.

/* keyword values */
vertical-align: baseline;
vertical-align: sub;
vertical-align: super;
vertical-align: text-top;
vertical-align: text-bottom;
vertical-align: middle;
vertical-align: top;
vertical-align: bottom;

/* <length> values */
vertical-align: 10em;
vertical-align: 4px;

/* <percentage> values */
vertical-align: 20%;

/* Global values */
vertical-align: inherit;
vertical-align: initial;
vertical-align: unset;

The vertical-align property can be used in two contexts:

  • To vertically align an inline element's box inside its containing line box. For example, it could be used to vertically position an <img> in a line of text:

  • To vertically align the content of a cell in a table:

Note: vertical-align only applies to inline and table-cell elements: you can't use it to vertically align block-level elements.

Initial value baseline
Applies to inline-level and table-cell elements. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line.
Inherited no
Percentages refer to the line-height of the element itself
Media visual
Computed value for percentage and length values, the absolute length, otherwise the keyword as specified
Animation type a length
Canonical order the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

The vertical-align property is specified as one of the keyword values listed below.

Values for inline elements

Parent-relative values

These values vertically align the element relative to its parent element:

baseline
Aligns the baseline of the element with the baseline of its parent. The baseline of some replaced elements, like <textarea>, is not specified by the HTML specification, meaning that their behavior with this keyword may vary between browsers.
sub
Aligns the baseline of the element with the subscript-baseline of its parent.
super
Aligns the baseline of the element with the superscript-baseline of its parent.
text-top
Aligns the top of the element with the top of the parent element's font.
text-bottom
Aligns the bottom of the element with the bottom of the parent element's font.
middle
Aligns the middle of the element with the baseline plus half the x-height of the parent.
<length>
Aligns the baseline of the element to the given length above the baseline of its parent. A negative value is allowed.
<percentage>
Aligns the baseline of the element to the given percentage above the baseline of its parent, with the value being a percentage of the line-height property. A negative value is allowed.

Line-relative values

The following values vertically align the element relative to the entire line:

top
Aligns the top of the element and its descendants with the top of the entire line.
bottom
Aligns the bottom of the element and its descendants with the bottom of the entire line.

For elements that do not have a baseline, the bottom margin edge is used instead.

Values for table cells

baseline (and sub, super, text-top, text-bottom, <length>, and <percentage>)
Aligns the baseline of the cell with the baseline of all other cells in the row that are baseline-aligned.
top
Aligns the top padding edge of the cell with the top of the row.
middle
Centers the padding box of the cell within the row.
bottom
Aligns the bottom padding edge of the cell with the bottom of the row.

Negative values are allowed.

Formal syntax

baseline | sub | super | text-top | text-bottom | middle | top | bottom | <percentage> | <length>

Example

HTML

<div>An <img src="https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12245/frame_image.svg" alt="link" width="32" height="32" /> image with a default alignment.</div>
<div>An <img class="top" src="https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12245/frame_image.svg" alt="link" width="32" height="32" /> image with a text-top alignment.</div>
<div>An <img class="bottom" src="https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12245/frame_image.svg" alt="link" width="32" height="32" /> image with a text-bottom alignment.</div>
<div>An <img class="middle" src="https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12245/frame_image.svg" alt="link" width="32" height="32" /> image with a middle alignment.</div>

CSS

img.top { vertical-align: text-top; }
img.bottom { vertical-align: text-bottom; }
img.middle { vertical-align: middle; }

Result

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
CSS Transitions
The definition of 'vertical-align' in that specification.
Working Draft Defines vertical-align as animatable.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)
The definition of 'vertical-align' in that specification.
Recommendation Adds the <length> value and allows it to be applied to elements with a display type of table-cell.
CSS Level 1
The definition of 'vertical-align' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 1 Yes 1 4 4 1
Feature Android webview Chrome for Android Edge mobile Firefox for Android IE mobile Opera Android iOS Safari
Basic support 1 1 Yes 4 Yes Yes 1

See also

© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/vertical-align