Syntax
<cite>Title of Work</cite>Examples
Citing a Book
Referencing a book title within a sentence.
<p>I just finished reading <cite>Clean Code</cite> by Robert C. Martin.</p>Citing Alongside a Quote
Using cite to credit the source of a blockquote.
<blockquote>
<p>Simplicity is the soul of efficiency.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>— <cite>Austin Freeman</cite></p>Citing a Web Article
Referencing an online article by title.
<p>According to <cite>Understanding the DOM</cite> on MDN, the DOM represents the page as a tree structure.</p>Best practices
- Use cite for the title of a work, not for the name of a person — there is no dedicated element for author names
- Pair with blockquote or q when crediting the source of a quotation
- Do not use cite purely for its default italic styling on unrelated text
- Combine with the cite attribute on blockquote/q (a URL) for machine-readable sourcing alongside the visible citation
Browser compatibility
Support applies to the named feature, not every attribute or behaviour in this article. Versions refer to browsers, not operating systems.
<cite>
Desktop
- Chrome
- Supported
From 1 - Firefox
- Supported
From 1 - Safari
- Supported
By 4 (possibly earlier) - Edge
- Supported
From 12 - Opera
- Supported
From 15
Mobile
- Safari on iOS
- Supported
By 3.2 (possibly earlier) - Chrome for Android
- Supported
From 18 - Firefox for Android
- Supported
From 4 - Samsung Internet
- Supported
From 1.0
MDN BCD record for this feature · MDN reference
Support history and limitations
Chrome
- From 1
Firefox
- From 1
Safari
- By 4 (possibly earlier)
Edge
- From 12
Opera
- From 15
Safari on iOS
- By 3.2 (possibly earlier)
Chrome for Android
- From 18
Firefox for Android
- From 4
Samsung Internet
- From 1.0
MDN BCD 8.1.5 · Dataset built 2026-10-08 · Mapping reviewed 2026-10-21. These dates are not individual browser-test or claim-verification dates. Unknown means the data does not establish support.