The code above is wrong... here:
$().keydown(function(e) { var $item = $(".selected").removeClass("selected"); if (e.keyCode === 40) { // bottom if ($item.next().is("li")) { $item.next().addClass("selected"); alert($item.get(0).innerHTML); } } }); }); Also consider using a plug-in... http://jquery.bassistance.de/autocomplete/demo/