"apple", "fruit2" => "orange", "fruit3" => "grape", "fruit4" => "apple", "fruit5" => "apple" ); // this cycle echoes all associative array // key where value equals "apple" $output = ''; while (true) { $fruit_name = current($array); if ($fruit_name === false) break; if ($fruit_name === 'apple') { $output .= key($array); } next($array); } var_dump($output);