diff --git a/.changeset/short-numbers-carry.md b/.changeset/short-numbers-carry.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..be95300054
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/short-numbers-carry.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-search-backend-node': patch
+---
+
+Escape : characters in the query
diff --git a/plugins/search-backend-node/src/engines/LunrSearchEngine.ts b/plugins/search-backend-node/src/engines/LunrSearchEngine.ts
index f2ace54ed2..a1c12f019d 100644
--- a/plugins/search-backend-node/src/engines/LunrSearchEngine.ts
+++ b/plugins/search-backend-node/src/engines/LunrSearchEngine.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ export class LunrSearchEngine implements SearchEngine {
         .map(([field, value]) => {
           // Require that the given field has the given value (with +).
           if (['string', 'number', 'boolean'].includes(typeof value)) {
+            if (typeof value === 'string') {
+              return ` +${field}:${value.replace(':', '\\:')}`;
+            }
             return ` +${field}:${value}`;
           }