I'm working on a select box that have images instead of text, (on the background with css). <script type="text/javascript"> function onChange(element) { element.style.backgroundColor = "Yellow"; element.className = "on_change"; } </script> <select onchange="onChange(this);"> <option value="1" style="background: url(/one.png) no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent; width:32px; height:32px;"></option> <option value="2" style="background: url(/two.png) no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent; width:32px; height:32px;"></option> <option value="3" style="background: url(/three.png) no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent; width:32px; height:32px;"></option> </select> The problem is how do I get the value of the selected option and if is 1 set one image and if it is two set another image as the background using pure javascript (no jQuery)? I know that selectedIndex is the key to my problem, but I'm clueless of how to use it or how to use it on an if else statement. The script above is just one of my trials, I actually use the script above to perform the same task. <select onchange="this.style.backgroundColor=this.options[this.selectedIndex].style.backgroundColor; this.style.color=this.options[this.selectedIndex].style.color">