All these methods .empty(), .remove() and .detach() are used for removing elements from DOM but they all are different.
.empty(): This method removes all the child element of the matched element where remove() method removes set of matched elements from DOM.
.remove(): Use .remove() when you want to remove the element itself, as well as everything inside it. In addition to the elements themselves, all bound events and jQuery data associated with the elements are removed.
.detach(): This method is the same as .remove(), except that .detach() keeps all jQuery data associated with the removed elements. This method is useful when removed elements are to be reinserted into the DOM at a later time.