CGRect frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, 480, 49);
UIView *backView = [[UIView alloc] initWithFrame:frame];
UIImage *backImage = [UIImage imageNamed:@"tabbar_bg.png"];
UIColor *backColor = [[UIColor alloc] initWithPatternImage:backImage];
backView.backgroundColor = backColor;
[backColor release];
[tabBarController.tabBar addSubview:backView];
[backView release];

Custom UITabBarController Background

Objective C