Widely availableOccasionally useful, though native list markup is usually the better semantic starting point.

Overview

display: list-item gives an element list-item box behavior, including a marker. It can be useful when custom structures still need list-like presentation.

Browser support

Feature Desktop Mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Safari
Chrome Android
Safari iOS
1
12
1
1
18
1
CSS property
list-item.legend-support

Supported on `<legend>`

71
79
64
71
1+Supported (version) Not supported Has note Sub-feature descriptions sourced from MDN Web Docs (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Syntax

CSS
.custom-item {
  display: list-item;
  list-style-type: disc;
  margin-left: 1.5em;
}

Live demo

list-item + disc

CSS List-item + disc demo.

PreviewFullscreen

list-item + decimal

CSS List-item + decimal demo.

PreviewFullscreen

customm-ka-

CSS customm-ka- demo.

PreviewFullscreen

Use cases

  • Custom list styling

    Apply list-item behavior to elements inside a custom component while preserving marker rendering.

  • Mixed layout patterns

    Blend list-style behavior into structures that need more layout control than plain lists.

Cautions

  • display can imitate list visuals, but it does not replace the semantic value of real ul/ol/li markup.
  • Marker behavior may still need careful styling and testing across browsers.

Accessibility

  • Prefer native list elements when the content is truly a list so assistive technologies receive proper structure.

Powered by web-features