Set the value attribute of every matched element
<html> <head> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-1.3.2.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $(document).ready(function(){ $("button").click(function () { var text = $(this).text(); $("input").val(text); }); }); </script> </head> <body> <body> Press button to fill the text box. <div> <button>A</button> <button>B</button> <button>C</button> </div> <input type="text" value="click a button" /> </body> </html>