 <p>Use primeface 4.0. Versions below this version do not support the placeholder attribute.</p> <ol> <li><p>use name space <code>xmlns:pt="http://java.sun.com/jsf/passthrough"</code>.</p></li> <li><p><code>p:inputTextarea id="textAreaValue" pt:placeholder="your text"</code></p> <p>don't insert a new line in <code>inputTextArea</code>.</p></li> </ol>