 <p>put this in you viewDidLoad, and i think you will get what you need.</p> <pre><code>UIBarButtonItem *backBarButtonItem = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"yourTitle" style:UIBarButtonItemStylePlain target:nil action:nil]; self.navigationItem.backBarButtonItem = backBarButtonItem; [backBarButtonItem release]; </code></pre>