Ng-init is a local scope of DOM controller in the region. In the ng-init blog is declare a variable, This variable have to scope of current Controller. Syntax: <div ng-init="variable"> </div> Example: <div ng-app="appInit"> <div ng-controller="appCtrl"> <div ng-init="items = (data | orderBy:'name')"> <div ng-repeat="item in items"> {{item.name}} - {{item.mobile}} </div> </div> </div> </div> AngularJS: var app = angular.module('appInit',[]); app.controller('appCtrl',function($scope){ $scope.data = [ {name:'sathiya',mobile:'9865988754'}, {name:'rajesh',mobile:'9887879856'}, {name:'mani',mobile:'5487548754'} ]; }); Result: Demo