Delete a Trendline in Excel Without Removing the Chart

To delete a trendline in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, click the trendline in the chart to select it, then press Delete. This removes the trendline, not the chart or its source data; if selecting the line is difficult, use the chart’s Format tab to choose the trendline from the Current Selection list, then press Delete.

Quick steps to remove a trendline

For a chart with one clearly visible trendline, removing it takes only a moment:

Click the chart once to activate its chart tabs.
Click the trendline itself. A selected trendline usually shows small selection handles along the line.
Press Delete on your keyboard.

The chart remains in the worksheet, along with its plotted data series, axis labels, title, legend, and other chart elements. Only the selected trendline is removed. If you delete the wrong object, use Ctrl+Z immediately to undo the action on Windows. On a Mac, use Command+Z.

You can also right-click the selected trendline and choose Delete from the context menu. The menu wording can vary slightly by Excel version, but the keyboard method is a reliable alternative. Avoid clicking a data point or the series line by mistake: those are separate chart objects, and deleting them can change what the chart displays.

Select the trendline when it is hard to click

Trendlines can be thin, overlap data markers, or sit close to a chart border. If repeated clicks select the chart area or a data series instead, select the object by name through the ribbon:

Click the chart so the contextual chart tabs appear.
Open the Format tab under Chart Tools.
In the Current Selection group, open the chart-element list.
Choose the entry for the trendline you want to remove. Excel may identify it by its series name and the word Trendline.
Press Delete.

This method is especially useful when a chart contains several plotted series or several trendlines. Read the selected object’s name before deleting it; a series and its trendline are not the same thing. If you select a series entry instead, deleting it may remove that series from the chart while leaving its worksheet values untouched.

Another option is to click the chart and use the Chart Elements button, shown as a plus sign beside the chart in desktop Excel. Its Trendline option can be used to show or remove chart trendlines, although the exact choices depend on the selected chart and series. For a chart with multiple trendlines, selecting the specific object through Current Selection gives you more control than changing a general chart-element option.

Remove one trendline or several

Each trendline is attached to a data series, and a chart can contain more than one series. For example, a chart comparing sales in two regions might have a blue series for the North and an orange series for the South. If both series have trendlines, deleting the blue trendline does not require deleting the orange one. Select and delete only the line you intend to remove.

A series may also have multiple trendlines, such as a linear fit and a polynomial fit used for comparison. In that case, use the chart-element list to identify the individual trendline. Avoid assuming that one press of Delete will remove every line in the chart: Delete acts on the currently selected object. To clear several trendlines, remove them one by one and check the chart after each deletion.

The Chart Elements plus button can be convenient when the goal is to turn off a displayed chart element rather than carefully edit one object. However, when a chart has several series, inspect the result after using it. Make sure the series themselves remain visible and that you have not changed another element, such as data labels or error bars.

What deleting a trendline changes

A trendline is a visual statistical fit drawn over a chart’s data. Depending on the trendline type, Excel can fit a straight line, a curve, or another supported model to a series. Deleting that line changes the chart’s presentation; it does not erase the underlying cells, recalculate the source values, or remove the data series from the chart.

Excel may display a trendline equation or an R-squared value as a label. These labels are associated with the trendline. When you delete the trendline, Excel normally removes its associated equation and R-squared label as well. If a label remains, or if you want to remove only the label while retaining the line, select the label separately and press Delete. Check the chart after editing because a label can be small or positioned away from the line.

Deleting a trendline also does not change the numbers in the worksheet that were used to create it. If the trendline was added to help interpret a pattern, its removal does not undo any calculations elsewhere in the workbook. A formula or written conclusion that refers to the trendline will remain as it was, so review related notes or reports if they are meant to match the chart.

Delete, hide, or keep the trendline?

Deleting is appropriate when the trendline is no longer needed and should not appear in the chart. If you are unsure, consider whether you want to remove the trendline permanently from the current chart design or simply create a cleaner view for a particular audience. Excel’s undo command can reverse a recent deletion, but it is not a long-term visibility switch.

Delete it when the trendline is misleading, obsolete, or unnecessary in the final chart.
Keep it when it helps readers see an overall pattern that is not obvious from individual data points.
Hide or simplify the chart in another copy when you need both a version with the analytical overlay and a presentation version without it.

Excel does not treat a trendline like a worksheet row that can simply be hidden and later unhidden. If you delete it, you can add a new one later, but you may need to choose its type and formatting again. A practical option is to duplicate the chart or worksheet before making substantial presentation changes. That preserves a version of the original chart without relying on Undo.

A trendline is not automatically proof that one variable causes another to change. It summarizes a pattern in the plotted data according to a chosen fit. A line can be a poor description of a nonlinear relationship, and a visually convincing fit does not establish causation. If removing the line improves clarity, explain the data pattern in a caption or accompanying text when readers still need that context.

Common problems and how to fix them

If pressing Delete seems to remove the wrong thing, undo immediately with Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac. Then select the chart element by name instead of clicking near it. The chart’s Current Selection list is useful because several objects may occupy nearly the same area on the plot.

The whole chart is selected: Click the trendline again, aiming for a section that does not overlap markers. If that fails, choose the trendline in Format > Current Selection.
A data series disappears: Undo, then confirm that the selected entry is a trendline rather than the series. A series is the plotted data itself; a trendline is an additional fit.
The trendline seems to return: Check whether another trendline is present on a different series or whether you selected a similar line. Use the chart-element list to inspect the available objects.
The equation is still visible: Select the equation label itself and delete it, or inspect the chart for another trendline whose label remains.
There is no trendline to select: The visible line may actually be a data series, a manually drawn shape, or a line in the source data. Check the object name in Current Selection before removing anything.

One common misconception is that deleting a trendline deletes the chart’s underlying data. It does not. A different issue arises if the chart’s data series itself is removed: the chart may then show fewer points or no line for that series, even though the worksheet cells remain intact.

Add a trendline again if you change your mind

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, click the chart and select the data series that should receive a trendline. Then choose Chart Design > Add Chart Element > Trendline and select an available type, such as Linear. You can also use the Chart Elements plus button and choose a trendline option. The available trendline types depend on the chart and data context.

After adding one, right-click the trendline and choose Format Trendline to review its options. Excel can offer settings such as the trendline model, a forecast period for certain models, and options to display the equation or R-squared value on the chart. Choose settings that fit the data and purpose; do not use a higher-order curve simply because it follows every point more closely, since that may make the overall pattern harder to interpret.

Excel for Mac uses contextual chart tabs and similar chart-element controls, though ribbon placement and labels can differ from Windows. Excel for the web has a different interface and may offer fewer formatting controls. In either case, select the trendline as a chart object and use Delete or the available chart-element controls; if precise selection is difficult, use the desktop app’s selection controls.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I delete a trendline without deleting the chart?
Click the trendline to select it, then press Delete. The chart and the source worksheet data remain. If the wrong object is selected, undo and choose the trendline through the chart’s Current Selection list.

Does deleting a trendline delete the data in Excel?
No. Deleting the trendline removes that chart overlay, not the cells used as the chart’s source data. The data series usually stays in the chart unless you select and delete the series itself.

How do I remove just one trendline from an Excel chart?
Select the specific trendline, preferably by its name in Format > Current Selection, and press Delete. This is important when multiple series or multiple trendlines appear in the same chart.

Can I remove a trendline’s equation but keep the line?
Yes. Select the equation label on the chart and press Delete. Be sure the label, rather than the trendline, is selected; the line should remain visible.

Can I get a deleted trendline back?
Use Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac if the deletion is still the most recent action. Otherwise, add a new trendline through Chart Design > Add Chart Element > Trendline, then reapply any needed type and formatting settings.

Try it: the Percentage Formula Generator: percent of, percent change, increase and decrease, with the formula.

More in Charts & pivot tables

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

Spotted an error in this guide? Let us know.