Textbooks have the potential to enhance students’ motivation. Given the importance of mathematics in the curriculum, the aim of the present study was to analyze the content of junior high school mathematics textbooks from the perspective of paying attention to the components of motivation for progress based on Hermans’ perspective. This study is descriptive and was conducted using the content analysis method. The statistical population of this study was junior high school mathematics textbooks, that is published in 2024. The recording unit included sentences of lessons, exercises, class work, and activities. For analysis, a checklist based on Hermans’ ten components of achievement motivation was used, and the test-retest technique was used for reliability of the instrument. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Shannon’s entropy method. The results of the study showed that components such as “long-term resistance in facing tasks with a moderate level of difficulty” and “willingness to make new efforts in completing incomplete tasks” were among the components with a high importance coefficient in all books. In contrast, components such as “paying attention to the criterion of competence in choosing friends and colleagues” and “low-risk behavior” had a low importance coefficient. The findings of the study indicate that the distribution of the components of motivation for progress in the content of the books is not uniform and there is a need to strengthen some components. It is suggested that textbook authors and educational planners pay more attention to strengthening students’ motivation for progress from various aspects.