Which HTML element is used for a block quotation?

The HTML element used for a block quotation is <blockquote>.

It marks a substantial section of text quoted from another source. The element is semantic: it tells browsers and assistive technologies that the enclosed passage is a quotation, while CSS controls its visual presentation. Browsers often indent block quotations by default, but that indentation is only a presentation convention and should not be the reason for using the element.

The related <q> element is intended for shorter, inline quotations within a paragraph. The <cite> element identifies the title of a cited work, such as a book, film, or article; it is not the element that contains a long quotation. A block quotation’s source can be recorded with the cite attribute, which takes a URL, although browsers do not generally display that URL automatically.

The blockquote element has been part of HTML’s semantic text-markup tradition since early HTML standards. The W3C HTML 4 specification deprecated using it merely to create indentation, recommending CSS for layout instead.