diff --git a/backend/tests/test_items.py b/backend/tests/test_items.py
index 7081ec32..440ee756 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_items.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_items.py
@@ -2,6 +2,232 @@ import pytest
 from fastapi import status
 
 
+class TestItemSearch:
+    """Test item search functionality."""
+
+    def test_search_items_by_name_exact_match(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test exact name match in search."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        item = Item(
+            name="Resistor 10K",
+            category="Electronics",
+            barcode="RES-10K-001",
+            part_number="R-10K",
+            quantity=100
+        )
+        test_db.add(item)
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=Resistor 10K",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) >= 1
+        assert data[0]["name"] == "Resistor 10K"
+
+    def test_search_items_by_part_number(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test search by part number."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        item = Item(
+            name="Capacitor",
+            category="Electronics",
+            barcode="CAP-100U-001",
+            part_number="CAP-100UF",
+            quantity=50
+        )
+        test_db.add(item)
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=CAP-100UF",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) >= 1
+        assert any(item["part_number"] == "CAP-100UF" for item in data)
+
+    def test_search_items_by_barcode(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test search by barcode."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        item = Item(
+            name="Diode",
+            category="Electronics",
+            barcode="BAR-123456789",
+            part_number="D-1N4007",
+            quantity=200
+        )
+        test_db.add(item)
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=BAR-123456789",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) >= 1
+        assert any(item["barcode"] == "BAR-123456789" for item in data)
+
+    def test_search_items_by_category(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test search by category."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        item = Item(
+            name="Test Item",
+            category="Networking",
+            barcode="NET-001",
+            part_number="NET-PN",
+            quantity=10
+        )
+        test_db.add(item)
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=Networking",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) >= 1
+
+    def test_search_items_partial_match(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test substring matching in search."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        item = Item(
+            name="Power Supply 500W",
+            category="Power",
+            barcode="PSU-500W",
+            part_number="PSU-500",
+            quantity=5
+        )
+        test_db.add(item)
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=Power",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) >= 1
+
+    def test_search_items_no_results(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test search with no matching results."""
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=NonexistentItemXYZ",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) == 0
+
+    def test_search_items_empty_query(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test search with empty query returns empty list."""
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) == 0
+
+    def test_search_items_max_length_query(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test search with query exceeding max length returns empty."""
+        long_query = "x" * 101
+        response = test_client.get(
+            f"/items/search?q={long_query}",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) == 0
+
+    def test_search_items_case_insensitive(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test that search is case-insensitive."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        item = Item(
+            name="Transistor",
+            category="Electronics",
+            barcode="TRN-001",
+            part_number="TRN-2N2222",
+            quantity=75
+        )
+        test_db.add(item)
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=transistor",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) >= 1
+
+    def test_search_items_relevance_ordering(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test that results are ordered by relevance (name match first)."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        # Create items where query matches different fields
+        item1 = Item(
+            name="Resistor",
+            category="Electronics",
+            barcode="RES-100",
+            part_number="R-100K",
+            quantity=100
+        )
+        item2 = Item(
+            name="Component",
+            category="Resistor Components",
+            barcode="RES-200",
+            part_number="R-200K",
+            quantity=50
+        )
+        test_db.add_all([item1, item2])
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=Resistor",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        # Name match should be first
+        assert len(data) >= 1
+        assert data[0]["name"] == "Resistor"
+
+    def test_search_items_max_50_results(self, test_client, test_db, user_token):
+        """Test that search returns max 50 results."""
+        from backend.models import Item
+
+        # Create 60 items with same category
+        for i in range(60):
+            item = Item(
+                name=f"Item {i}",
+                category="Test",
+                barcode=f"TEST-{i}",
+                part_number=f"P-{i}",
+                quantity=i
+            )
+            test_db.add(item)
+        test_db.commit()
+
+        response = test_client.get(
+            "/items/search?q=Test",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {user_token}"}
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == status.HTTP_200_OK
+        data = response.json()
+        assert len(data) <= 50
+
+
 class TestItemCRUD:
     """Test item creation, read, update, delete."""