Editing jQuery .find() vs context, using DOM node as context This edit will create a new revision. Your details (optional) Name Email (won’t be displayed; might be used for Gravatar) URL Test case details Title * Published (uncheck if you want to fiddle around before making the page public) Description (in case you feel further explanation is needed)(Markdown syntax is allowed) To modify the actual context of a selector (i.e. cause it to not search the default context - the entire document node - but instead scope to only the specified node) the context attribute must be a DOM Node - not a jQuery selector or even a jQuery collection. If a jQuery selector or collection is used, context acts simply as a wrapper for .find (and will therefore always be slower.) src: http://brandonaaron.net/blog/2009/06/24/understanding-the-context-in-jquery Are you a spammer? (just answer the question) Preparation code Preparation code HTML (this will be inserted in the <body> of a valid HTML5 document in standards mode) (useful when testing DOM operations or including libraries) <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1/jquery.min.js"></script> <div id='myDiv'> <p>hello <a href="http://www.example.com/"><span id="mySpan">link</span></a></p> <p>world <a href="http://www.example.com/"><span id="mySpan">link</span></a></p> </div> <script> if (!window.console || !window.console.log) { throw 'console.log() is not supported. Please install Firebug. http://getfirebug.com' } </script> Include JavaScript libraries as follows: <script src="//cdn.ext/library.js"></script> Define setup for all tests (variables, functions, arrays or other objects that will be used in the tests) (runs before each clocked test loop, outside of the timed code region) (e.g. define local test variables, reset global variables, clear canvas, etc.) (see FAQ) var $myDiv = $("#myDiv"), myDiv = $myDiv[0]; Define teardown for all tests (runs after each clocked test loop, outside of the timed code region) (see FAQ) Code snippets to compare Test 1 Title Async (check if this is an asynchronous test) Code $myDiv.find('#mySpan'); Test 2 Title Async (check if this is an asynchronous test) Code $('#mySpan', myDiv);