 <p>If the parent has <code>display:none;</code> then you'll need to show it before trying to slideUp the child. You can do this with the <code>show</code> function.</p> <pre><code>$(divToSlide).parent().show(); $(divToSlide).slideUp(); </code></pre> <p>Per the comment, you could alternatively, you could just set the display property to 'block'</p> <pre><code>$(divToSlide).parent().css("display", "block"); $(divToSlide).slideUp(); </code></pre>