Delete Node by Position

Last Updated : 29 Aug, 2025

Given the head of a singly linked list and a position (1-based index), delete the node at that position and return the updated head of the linked list.

Note: Position will be valid (i.e, 1 <= position <= linked list length)

Example:

Input: position = 1

Output: 2-> 3 -> 1-> 7 -> nullptr
Explanation: After deleting the node at the 1st position (1-base indexing), the linked list is as

Input: position = 5

Output: 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> nullptr
Explanation: After deleting the node at 5th position (1-based indexing), the linked list is as

[Approach] Single Traversal Deletion - O(n) Time and O(1) Space

Deletion at a specified position in a linked list involves removing a node from a specific index/position, which can be the first, middle, or last node.

To perform the deletion, If the position is 1, we update the head to point to the next node and delete the current head. For other positions, we traverse the list to reach the node just before the specified position. If the target node exists, we adjust the next of this previous node to point to next of next nodes, which will result in skipping the target node.

C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Node {
public:
    int data;
    Node* next;

    Node(int data) {
        this->data = data;
        this->next = nullptr;
    }
};

Node* deleteNode(Node* head, int position) {
    Node* temp = head;

    // Head is to be deleted
    if (position == 1) {
        head = temp->next;
        delete temp;
        return head;
    }

    // Traverse to the node 
    // before the one to be deleted
    Node* prev = nullptr;
    for (int i = 1; i < position; i++) {
        prev = temp;
        temp = temp->next;
    }

    // Delete the node at the position
    prev->next = temp->next;
    delete temp;

    return head;
}

void printList(Node* head) {
    while (head != nullptr) {
        cout << head->data << " -> ";
        head = head->next;
    }
    cout << "nullptr" << endl;
}

int main() {
    Node* head = new Node(1);
    head->next = new Node(2);
    head->next->next = new Node(3);
    head->next->next->next = new Node(4);

    int position = 3;
    head = deleteNode(head, position);

    printList(head);

    return 0;
}

Java

class GfG {

    static class Node {
        int data;
        Node next;

        Node(int data) {
            this.data = data;
            this.next = null;
        }
    }

    static Node deleteNode(Node head, int position) {
        Node temp = head;

        // Head is to be deleted
        if (position == 1) {
            head = temp.next;
            return head;
        }

        // Traverse to the node before 
        // the one to be deleted
        Node prev = null;
        for (int i = 1; i < position; i++) {
            prev = temp;
            temp = temp.next;
        }

        // Delete the node at the position
        prev.next = temp.next;

        return head;
    }

    static void printList(Node head) {
        while (head != null) {
            System.out.print(head.data + " -> ");
            head = head.next;
        }
        System.out.println("nullptr");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Node head = new Node(1);
        head.next = new Node(2);
        head.next.next = new Node(3);
        head.next.next.next = new Node(4);

        int position = 3;
        head = deleteNode(head, position);

        printList(head);
    }
}

Python

class Node:
    def __init__(self, data):
        self.data = data
        self.next = None


def deleteNode(head, position):
    temp = head

    # Head is to be deleted
    if position == 1:
        head = temp.next
        return head

    # Traverse to the node before 
    # the one to be deleted
    prev = None
    for i in range(1, position):
        prev = temp
        temp = temp.next

    # Delete the node at the position
    prev.next = temp.next
    return head


def printList(head):
    while head is not None:
        print(f"{head.data} -> ", end="")
        head = head.next
    print("nullptr")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    head = Node(1)
    head.next = Node(2)
    head.next.next = Node(3)
    head.next.next.next = Node(4)

    position = 3
    head = deleteNode(head, position)

    printList(head)

C#

using System;

class Node{
    public int data;
    public Node next;

    public Node(int data){
        this.data = data;
        this.next = null;
    }
}

class GfG {
    static Node deleteNode(Node head, int position){
        Node temp = head;

        // Head is to be deleted
        if (position == 1){
            head = temp.next;
            return head;
        }

        // Traverse to the node before
        // the one to be deleted
        Node prev = null;
        for (int i = 1; i < position; i++)
        {
            prev = temp;
            temp = temp.next;
        }

        // Delete the node at the position
        prev.next = temp.next;

        return head;
    }

    static void PrintList(Node head){
        while (head != null){
            Console.Write(head.data + " -> ");
            head = head.next;
        }
        Console.WriteLine("nullptr");
    }

    static void Main(){
        Node head = new Node(1);
        head.next = new Node(2);
        head.next.next = new Node(3);
        head.next.next.next = new Node(4);

        int position = 3;
        head = deleteNode(head, position);

        PrintList(head);
    }
}

JavaScript

class Node {
    constructor(data) {
        this.data = data;
        this.next = null;
    }
}

function deleteNode(head, position) {
    let temp = head;

    // Head is to be deleted
    if (position === 1) {
        head = temp.next;
        return head;
    }

    // Traverse to the node before the one to be deleted
    let prev = null;
    for (let i = 1; i < position; i++) {
        prev = temp;
        temp = temp.next;
    }

    // Delete the node at the position
    prev.next = temp.next;

    return head;
}

function printList(head) {
    let curr = head;
    while (curr !== null) {
        process.stdout.write(curr.data + " -> ");
        curr = curr.next;
    }
    console.log("nullptr");
}

// Driver Code

let head = new Node(1);
head.next = new Node(2);
head.next.next = new Node(3);
head.next.next.next = new Node(4);

let position = 3;
head = deleteNode(head, position);

printList(head);

Output

1 -> 2 -> 4 -> nullptr

Comment

Article Tags:

Explore