Limit Order Book
A limit order book lists outstanding buy and sell limit orders by price and size, showing visible market depth.
Order-book, depth, imbalance, and queue concepts used to understand visible market liquidity.
Order Book, Depth, and Queue explains order-book, depth, imbalance, and queue concepts used to understand visible market liquidity. Frame Order Book, Depth, and Queue around market structure: where prices form, how orders interact, and how liquidity or venue rules affect execution.
Use this branch when the question is what the visible book says about supply, demand, queue priority, and likely execution. This content is educational and does not recommend placing, canceling, or routing an order.
| Topic | Use it when the question is about | Evidence to check |
|---|---|---|
| Order Book | The visible list of buy and sell interest in a market | Book snapshot, venue, price levels, displayed size, timestamp, and order conditions |
| Limit Order Book | Limit orders resting by price and time priority | Limit prices, queue priority, cancellations, modifications, and venue rulebook |
| Order Book Depth | Displayed quantity available beyond the best bid and offer | Depth ladder, price levels, quote size, market-by-price view, and timestamp |
| Order Imbalance | Excess buy or sell interest before or during a trading event | Auction imbalance feed, order flow, side, size, reference price, and event time |
| Order Queue | Position in line for execution at a price level | Time priority, price level, displayed quantity ahead, modifications, and fill record |
Order-book evidence is a snapshot, not a promise. Depth can change quickly, queue position can be lost after modification, and hidden or off-exchange liquidity may not appear in the visible book.
Move to Liquidity, Depth, and Transaction Costs when the issue is broader execution cost. Move to Quote Levels, Bid-Ask Terms, and Spreads when the issue is quote wording.
For broader context, return to Market Quality and Microstructure.
Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.
A limit order book lists outstanding buy and sell limit orders by price and size, showing visible market depth.
Live list of resting buy and sell orders, used to read displayed liquidity and near-term price pressure.
Order book depth shows available buy and sell interest across price levels and helps traders judge liquidity and execution risk.
Order imbalance occurs when buy or sell orders materially exceed the opposite side, often affecting auctions, openings, and short-term price pressure.
An order queue is the ranked list of orders waiting for execution at a price level, usually governed by exchange priority rules.