Insertion in a Doubly Linked List
Last Updated :
23 Jul, 2025
Inserting a new node in a doubly linked list is very similar to inserting new node in linked list. There is a little extra work required to maintain the link of the previous node. In this article, we will learn about different ways to insert a node in a doubly linked list.
1. Insertion at the Beginning in Doubly Linked List
Insertion at the beginning in a doubly linked list involves adding a new node before the head node. The new node’s next pointer points to the current head, and the current head’s prev pointer is updated to the new node. The head of the list is then updated to the new node.
Insert Node 1 at the Beginning of the Doubly Linked ListTo insert a new node at the front of doubly linked list,
- Create a new node, say new_node with its previous pointer as NULL.
- Set the next pointer to the current head, new_node->next = head.
- Check if the linked list is not empty then we update the previous pointer of the current head to the new node, head->prev = new_node.
- Finally, we return the new node as the head of the linked list.
To read more about Insertion at Beginning in DLL Refer, Insert a Node at Front/Beginning of Doubly Linked List
2. Insertion after a given node in Doubly Linked List
Insertion after a given node in a doubly linked list involves inserting a new node just after a specified node. The new node’s prev pointer is set to the given node, and its next pointer points to the node that was originally after the given node. The next node's prev pointer is then updated to the new node.
Insert node 3 after node 2 in Doubly Linked ListTo insert a new node after a specific node,
- Find the given node in the linked list, say curr.
- Once we find it, create a new node say new_node with the given input data.
- Set the new node's previous pointer to given node, new_node->prev = curr.
- Set the new node’s next pointer to the given node's next, new_node->next = curr->next.
- Then, we update the next pointer of given node with new node, curr->next = new_node.
- Also, if the new node is not the last node of the linked list, then update previous pointer of new node's next node to new node, new_node->next->prev = new_node.
To read more about Insertion after a given node in DLL Refer, Insert a Node after a given node in Doubly Linked List
3. Insertion before a given node in Doubly Linked List
Insertion before a given node in a doubly linked list involves adding a new node just before the specified node. The new node's next pointer is set to the given node, and its prev pointer points to the node that was originally before the given node. The previous node's next pointer is then updated to the new node, and the given node’s prev pointer is updated to point to the new node.
Insert node 2 before node 3 in Doubly Linked ListTo insert a new node before a specific node,
- Find the given node in the linked list, say curr.
- Once we find it, create a new node say new_node with the given input data.
- Set the new node's previous pointer to the node before the given node, new_node->prev = curr->prev.
- Set the new node’s next pointer to the given node, new_node->next = curr.
- Check if the given node is not the head of the linked list, then update next pointer of new node's prev node to new node, new_node->prev->next = new_node.
- Finally, we update the previous pointer of given node with new node, curr->prev = new_node.
To read more about Insertion before a given node in DLL Refer, Insert a Node before a given node in Doubly Linked List
4. Insertion at a specific position in Doubly Linked List
Insertion at a specific position in a doubly linked list involves inserting a new node at a given index. The node's prev pointer is set to the node before the specified position, and its next pointer is set to the node at the specified position. The previous node's next pointer is updated to point to the new node, and the next node's prev pointer is updated to point to the new node.
Insert Node 3 at position 3 in Doubly Linked ListTo insert a new node at a specific position,
- Traverse the list to position – 1.
- If the position is valid, update the next pointer of new node to the next of current node and prev pointer of new node to the current node.
- Similarly, update next pointer of current node to the new node and prev pointer of new node's next to the new node.
To read more about Insertion of node at specific position in DLL Refer, Insert a Node at a specific position in Doubly Linked List
5. Insertion at the End in Doubly Linked List
Insertion at the end of a doubly linked list involves adding a new node after the last node. The new node’s prev pointer points to the current last node, and its next pointer is set to NULL (since it will be the new last node). The next pointer of the current last node is updated to point to the new node. Finally, the tail pointer of the list is updated to point to the new node.
Insert Node 4 at the end of Doubly Linked ListTo insert a new node at the end,
- Allocate memory for a new node, say new_node and assign the provided value to its data field.
- Initialize the next pointer of the new node to NULL, new_node->next = NULL.
- If the linked list is empty, we set the new node as the head of linked list and return it as the new head of the linked list.
- Traverse the entire list until we reach the last node, say curr.
- Set the next pointer of last node to new node, curr->next = new_node
- Set the prev pointer of new node to last node, new_node->prev = curr
To read more about Insertion of node at the end in DLL Refer, Insert a Node at the end of Doubly Linked List
Doubly linked list Insertion at given position | DSA Problem
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