Can you put Looting on an axe?
No. You can't put Looting on an axe in Java 26.3, not even with an anvil.
Why not
Looting is not on the axe's list. Here is what an axe can take instead: Curse of Vanishing, Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Fortune, Silk Touch, Efficiency, Unbreaking, Mending.
What that means in practice
Looting is limited to swords and spears. Axes get their own tool enchantments instead: Efficiency, Fortune and Silk Touch. Fortune on an axe raises block drops such as melon slices, but it does nothing to mobs.
What to use instead
Looting only goes on swords and spears. Keep a Looting sword for farming drops and use the axe for raw damage with Sharpness. On a fresh axe, Sharpness V costs 5 levels as a book.
Many players swap items for the final blow. First hit with the axe for big damage, then switch to the Looting sword when the mob is nearly dead. The drops follow the weapon that lands the killing hit.
Why the game says no
Looting only goes on sword and spear. An axe is not on that list. That matters because each enchantment's data file lists the items it supports, and the anvil checks that list. So the anvil gives no result, and the enchanting table never offers it.
No survival trick changes that. Combining two items, renaming or using a grindstone first all leave the list the same.
The best axe build instead
So a max axe has Sharpness V, Fortune III, Efficiency V, Unbreaking III and Mending. In the cheapest order it costs 32 levels over 5 anvil steps, and no step goes above 11. Open it in the calculator.
The best axe enchantments page explains every book, and the axe enchant order shows each anvil step.
Where Looting goes
- Looting goes on sword and spear. The enchanting table can offer it on both. Related questions: Looting on spear, Looting on trident.
Commands and creative mode
The /enchant command refuses too, because an axe can't support Looting. Only /give with the enchantments component can attach it, which makes a command-only item that survival can never produce. The command generator writes the right syntax for your edition.
Java and Bedrock
As far as the item list goes, the answer is also the same in Java and Bedrock. The anvil differs, though: Java charges the full new level of every book. This page follows Java 26.3.
About Looting
Looting makes mobs drop more items and raises the chance of rare drops. Each level adds up to one extra common drop and improves rare and equipment drops.
Looting has a max level of III. If you need a book, you can get it from the enchanting table, librarian villagers, ominous vaults (trial chambers) and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. A librarian sells a Looting III book for 11 to 45 emeralds. Before you buy, read everything about Looting, including what each level does.
What else an axe can take
Instead, an axe can take Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods, Fortune, Silk Touch, Efficiency, Unbreaking and Mending. Then the best axe enchantments page ranks them and gives the max build.
Related questions: Sharpness on axe, Smite on axe, Fire Aspect on axe, Efficiency on axe, Knockback on axe.
Questions
Can you put Looting on an axe?
No. You can't put Looting on an axe in Java 26.3, not even with an anvil.
What else can Looting go on?
sword and spear.
Does Fortune on an axe increase mob drops?
No. Fortune only affects block drops. Only Looting changes what mobs drop.
What should I use for drops instead?
A Looting III sword or spear. Switch to it for the final hit on a mob whose drops you want.
Can an axe get Looting from an enchanting table or a villager?
No. The enchanting table only offers enchantments an item supports. A villager's Looting book still can't go on an axe, because the anvil checks the same list.