Using the selectedIndex Property
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Select Inspector</TITLE> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> function inspect(form) { alert(form.colorsList.options[form.colorsList.selectedIndex].text) } </SCRIPT> </HEAD> <BODY> <FORM> <P><SELECT NAME="colorsList"> <OPTION SELECTED>Red <OPTION VALUE="Plants"><I>Green</I> <OPTION>Blue </SELECT></P> <P><INPUT TYPE="button" VALUE="Show Selection" onClick="inspect(this.form)"></P> </FORM> </BODY> </HTML>