Return the overflow property:
alert(document.getElementById("myDiv").style.overflow);
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <body> <div id="myDiv" style="border:1px solid red;width:100px;height:100px;overflow:scroll;"> This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. This is some text. </div>/* w w w . j ava 2s. co m*/ <br> <button type="button" onclick="myFunction()">Return overflow</button> <p id="demo"></p> <script> function myFunction() { document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = document.getElementById("myDiv").style.overflow; } </script> </body> </html>