<!DOCTYPE HTML> <style> body { background-color: green; } #thediv { background-color: green; width: 300px; height: 100px; position: absolute; top: 20px; left: 20px; z-index: 2; } #theshadow { background-color: black; width: 306px; height: 106px; position: absolute; top: 20px; left: 20px; z-index: 1; } </style> <div id="theshadow"> </div><div id="thediv">Foo</div>