 <pre><code> UIBarButtonItem *temp = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithBarButtonSystemItem:UIBarButtonSystemItemFlexibleSpace target:nil action:nil]; UIButton *button = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom]; [button setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"BlueMarbleDrop"] forState:UIControlStateNormal]; button.frame=CGRectMake(0.0, 0.0, 60.0, 30.0); [button addTarget:self action:nil forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside]; UIBarButtonItem* stopBtn = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithCustomView:button]; [self.toolBar setItems:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:temp,stopBtn,temp, nil]]; </code></pre> <p>the output look like <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/dcBAK.png" alt="enter image description here"></p> <p>i took this from <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/664930/uibarbuttonitem-with-color">UIBarButtonItem with color?</a></p>