← CSS Support Index

Does CSS Descendant combinator Work in HTML Email?

The descendant combinator is represented by a space (` `) between two selectors and matches the second selector if it has ancestor matching the first selector.

Quick Answer

Does Descendant combinator work in HTML email?

The CSS Descendant combinator property is supported in all major email clients tested. You can use it with confidence in your HTML emails.

Which Email Clients Support CSS Descendant combinator?

CSS support for Descendant combinator across email clients

Email ClientDesktopMobile / WebNotes
Gmail✓ Yes~ Partial—
Outlook (Windows)✓ Yes?—
Outlook (Mac / Web)✓ Yes✓ Yes—
Apple Mail✓ Yes✓ Yes—
Yahoo! Mail✓ Yes✓ Yes—
Samsung Email?✓ Yes—
Thunderbird✓ Yes?—
ProtonMail✗ No✓ Yes—
Fastmail✓ Yes?—

Notes

  • #1 Partial. Not supported with non Google accounts.
  • #2 Buggy. The first `<head>` in the HTML is removed, so `<style>` elements need to be in a second `<head>` element.
  • #3 Partial. Only when used as class or ID selectors

Frequently Asked Questions

Related CSS Properties

Test Your Email Now

Paste your HTML and see how it renders in clients that don't support
Descendant combinator.

Open Email Previewer

Building a new email instead of checking an existing one? MailViewr's Email Builder only lets you use CSS that's known to render across clients, so Descendant combinator can't sneak into your markup by accident. Open the Email Builder →