<!DOCTYPE HTML> <style> body { background-color: green; } #thediv { background-color: green; width: 300px; height: 100px; position: absolute; top: 20px; left: 20px; z-index: 4; } #theshadow { background-color: black; width: 300px; height: 100px; position: absolute; top: 29px; left: 29px; z-index: 1; } #theshadow2 { background-color: blue; width: 300px; height: 100px; position: absolute; top: 26px; left: 26px; z-index: 2; } #theshadow3 { background-color: red; width: 300px; height: 100px; position: absolute; top: 23px; left: 23px; z-index: 3; } </style> <div id="theshadow"> </div><div id="theshadow2"> </div><div id="theshadow3"> </div><div id="thediv">Foo</div>