<script type="text/javascript">
$(function() {
$("input[id='text-block']"
.keyup(function countRemainingChars(){
maxchars = 50;
number = $("input[id='text-block']"
.val().length;
if(number <= maxchars){
$("#block"
.html(maxchars-number + " символов осталось"
;
}
if(number == maxchars) {
$("#text-block"
.attr({ maxlength: maxchars});
}
});
});
</script>
<input type="text" id="text-block"/><span id="block"></span>