Python List index() - Find Index of Item

Last Updated : 27 Apr, 2025

index() method in Python is a helpful tool when you want to find the position of a specific item in a list. It works by searching through the list from the beginning and returning the index (position) of the first occurrence of the element you're looking for. Example:

Output

Explanation: index("dog") method finds the first occurrence of "dog" in the list a. Since "dog" is at index 1, it returns 1.

Syntax of List index() method

list.index(element, start, end)

Parameters:

element (required): The item to search for.
start (optional): Index to start the search from (default is 0).
end (optional): Index to end the search (exclusive, default is end of list).

Returns:

The first index of element in the list within the specified range.
Raises ValueError if the element is not found.

Examples of List index()

Example 1: In this example, we are searching for the index of the number 40 within a specific range of the list from index 4 to 7 .

Output

Example 2: In this example, we try to find the index of 'yellow' in the list and handle the error with a try-except block if it's not found.

Output

Not Present

Example 3: In this example, we are finding the index of the tuple ("Bob", 22) in a list of tuples and index() will return the position of its first occurrence.

Output