Replace a line or word in a file import java.io.*; public class BTest { public static void main(String args[]) { try { File file = new File("file.txt"); BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file)); String line = "", oldtext = ""; while((line = reader.readLine()) != null) { oldtext += line + "\r\n"; } reader.close(); // replace a word in a file //String newtext = oldtext.replaceAll("drink", "Love"); //To replace a line in a file String newtext = oldtext.replaceAll("This is test string 20000", "blah blah blah"); FileWriter writer = new FileWriter("file.txt"); writer.write(newtext);writer.close(); } catch (IOException ioe) { ioe.printStackTrace(); } } } file.txt I drink Java I sleep Java This is test string 1 This is test string 20000