Set height dynamic to width
HTML
<style>
.wrap{
width:300px;
height:400px;
border:1px solid red;
}
.child{
width: 80%;
border:1px solid blue;
}
</style>
<div class="wrap">
<div class="child"></div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.6.2.js"></script>
<script>
var cw = $('.child').width();
$('.child').css({
'height': cw + 'px'
});
</script>