removeChild

removeChild is a method of the Node interface in the Document Object Model (DOM). It removes a child node from the parent’s list of children and returns the removed node. The operation updates the DOM tree to reflect the new structure, and the removed node can be reinserted elsewhere in the document.

Usage: Call it on the parent node with the child node to remove, for example: parent.removeChild(child). The child must be a direct child of the parent; otherwise a DOMException is thrown (NotFoundError). After removal, the child's parent reference becomes null, and the subtree rooted at the removed node remains intact and can be inserted elsewhere.

Notes: Removing a node detaches it from the document. Event listeners on the node remain attached to the node itself but will not receive events from the document until it is reinserted. If you need to remove all children, you can loop while (parent.firstChild) { parent.removeChild(parent.firstChild); }.

Alternatives and compatibility: In modern code, Element.remove can remove the element directly without referencing its parent; remove is not available on all node types. Node.removeChild is supported in all major browsers since early versions of the DOM specification.

See also: appendChild, replaceChild, Node, Element.