This simple example mentions how the data from the xml file can be read and displayed in a textbox in the html file. It illustrates the concept which simplifies understanding the basics. The structure of file.xml is:- <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <root>HELLO</root> This code lies in file.php:- <?php $xdoc = new DOMDocument( '1.0', 'UTF-8' ); $xdoc->Load("file.xml"); $candidate = $xdoc->getElementsByTagName('root')->item(0); $newElement = $xdoc ->createElement('root'); $txtNode = $xdoc ->createTextNode ($root); $newElement -> appendChild($txtNode); $candidate -> appendChild($newElement); $msg = $candidate->nodeValue; ?> This code lies in file.html <input type="text" name="msgval" value="<?php echo $msg; ?>" /> It will display the data in $msg variable in the textbox names msgval.