<script type="text/javascript" src="/js/jquery.js"></script>
<li class="item-i">I</li>
<li class="item-a">A</li>
<li class="item-1">1</li>
<li class="item-2">2</li>
<li class="item-3">3</li>
<li class="item-c">C</li>
<li class="item-iii">III</li>
var item1 = $('li.item-1')[0];
$('li.item-ii').find( item1 ).css('background-color', 'red');