Java ArrayList subList() Method

Last Updated : 06 Aug, 2025

The subList() method of the ArrayList class in Java is used to retrieve a portion of an ArrayList between specified indices. When we perform any modifications to the sub list, that will reflect in the original list and vice versa.

Example 1: Here, we use the subList() method to extract a sublist from an ArrayList.

Java

// Java program to demonstrate subList() // by extracting a portion of the ArrayList import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.List; public class GFG {  public static void main(String[] args) {    // Creating an ArrayList of flowers  ArrayList<String> l = new ArrayList<>();  l.add("Rose");  l.add("Lotus");  l.add("Lavender");  l.add("Lilly");  l.add("Sunflower");  // Extracting a sublist  List<String> s = l.subList(1, 4);  // Printing the original list and sublist  System.out.println("" + l);  System.out.println("" + s);  } }

Output

[Rose, Lotus, Lavender, Lilly, Sunflower] [Lotus, Lavender, Lilly]

Syntax of ArrayList subList() Method

public List<E> subList(int fromIndex, int toIndex)

Parameters:

fromIndex: Starting index (inclusive) of the sublist.
toIndex: Ending index (exclusive) of the sublist.

Returns Value: It returns a view of the portion of this list between the specified indices.

Exception: This method throws the following Exceptions.

IndexOutOfBoundsException: If an endpoint index value is out of range (fromIndex > size).
IllegalArgumentException: If an endpoint indices are out of order (fromIndex > toIndex).

Example 2: Here, we will modify a sublist and will see how the changes reflect in the original list.

Java

// Java program to demonstrate subList() // by modifying elements in the sublist import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.List; public class GFG {  public static void main(String[] args) {    // Creating an ArrayList of numbers  ArrayList<Integer> n = new ArrayList<>();  n.add(1);  n.add(2);  n.add(3);  n.add(4);  n.add(5);  // Creating a sublist  List<Integer> s = n.subList(1, 4);  // Modifying the sublist  s.set(0, 9); // Updating the first element in sublist  s.remove(2); // Removing the last element in sublist    System.out.println("Original List After Modification: " + n);  System.out.println("Modified Sublist: " + s);  } }

Output

Original List After Modification: [1, 9, 3, 5] Modified Sublist: [9, 3]

Explanation: In the above example, we have created the original list starts with 5 elements i.e. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The sublist created using subList(1, 4) contains 3 elements [2, 3, 4]. After modifications, the original list becomes [1, 99, 3, 5], and the sublist becomes [99, 3].

Example 3: Here, we will try to use invalid indices and handle the IndexOutOfBoundsException.

Java

// Java program to demonstrate  // IndexOutOfBoundsException in subList() import java.util.ArrayList; public class GFG {  public static void main(String[] args) {    // Creating an ArrayList of names  ArrayList<String> n = new ArrayList<>();  n.add("Sweta");  n.add("Gudly");  try {    // Trying to create a sublist   // with invalid indices  n.subList(1, 5);  } catch (IndexOutOfBoundsException e) {  System.out.println("Error: " + e.getMessage());  }  } }