# HTML DOM body Property

Document Object

## Example

Change the background color of the current document:

document.body.style.backgroundColor = "yellow";
Try it yourself »

More "Try it Yourself" examples below.

## Definition and Usage

The body property sets or returns the document's body.

On return, this property returns the <body> element of the current document.

On set, this property overwrites all child elements inside the existing <body> element, and replaces it with the new, specified content.

## Browser Support

Property |  |  |  |  |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
body | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes

## Syntax

Return the body property:

document.body

Set the body property:

document.body=newContent

## Property Values

Value | Description
--- | ---
newContent | Specifies the new content for <body>

## Technical Details

Return Value: | A reference to the Body Object, which represents a <body> element, or null if the element does not exist
DOM Version | Core Level 1 Document Object

## More Examples

## Example

Get the HTML content of the current document:

var x = document.body.innerHTML;
Try it yourself »

## Example

Change the HTML content of the current document (will overwrite all existing HTML elements inside <body>):

document.body.innerHTML = "Some new HTML content";
Try it yourself »

## Example

Create a <p> element with some text and append it to the document's body:

var x = document.createElement("P"); // Create a <p> element
var t = document.createTextNode("This is a paragraph."); // Create a text node
x.appendChild(t); // Append the text to <p>
document.body.appendChild(x); // Append <p> to <body>
Try it yourself »

## Related Pages

HTML reference: HTML <body> tag

JavaScript reference: HTML DOM Body Object

Document Object

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