You can simply do it by doing: > Gets a value that specifies the content type of the list item. > > Returns a ContentType.instance representing the content type of the > list item. SPContentType = properties.ListItem.ContentType; so for item **adding** it will be: public override void ItemAdding(SPItemEventProperties properties) { SPContentType ct = properties.ListItem.ContentType; } http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sharepoint.client.listitem.contenttype.aspx In the item **added** event its slightly different public override void ItemAdded(SPItemEventProperties properties) { SPList list = properties.listName; string ctName = properties.AfterProperties["ContentType"].ToString(); SPContentType contentType = list.ContentTypes[ctName]; } hope it helps :)