taken from stackowerflow.com CGSize maximumSize = CGSizeMake ( 300 , 9999 ); NSString * dateString = @ "The date today is January 1st, 1999" ; UIFont * dateFont = [ UIFont fontWithName :@ "Helvetica" size : 14 ]; CGSize dateStringSize = [ dateString sizeWithFont : dateFont constrainedToSize : maximumSize lineBreakMode : self . dateLabel . lineBreakMode ]; CGRect dateFrame = CGRectMake ( 10 , 10 , 300 , dateStringSize . height ); self . dateLabel . frame = dateFrame ;