jQuery closest()
find parent
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <style> .ancestors * {//w w w. j a v a2s .c om display: block; border: 2px solid lightgrey; color: lightgrey; padding: 5px; margin: 15px; } </style> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.4.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){ var listItemII = document.getElementById("dom"); $("li").closest("ul",listItemII) .css({"color": "red", "border": "2px solid red"}); }); </script> </head> <body class="ancestors">body <div style="width:500px;">div <ul id="dom">ul <ul id="dom">ul <li>li <span>span</span> </li> </ul> </ul> </div> </body> </html>