diff --git a/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py b/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py
index a673dcef846ce..189fd8f0c2f38 100644
--- a/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py
+++ b/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py
@@ -109,6 +109,23 @@ def search(
         # Strip raw HRR bytes — callers expect JSON-serializable dicts
         for fact in results:
             fact.pop("hrr_vector", None)
+
+        # Increment retrieval_count for all matched facts so usage metrics
+        # (dreaming, trust adjustments) have accurate signal.  Covers both
+        # the prefetch() and fact_store(action='search') code paths.
+        if results:
+            ids = [r["fact_id"] for r in results]
+            placeholders = ",".join(["?"] * len(ids))
+            try:
+                self.store._conn.execute(
+                    f"UPDATE facts SET retrieval_count = retrieval_count + 1 "
+                    f"WHERE fact_id IN ({placeholders})",
+                    ids,
+                )
+                self.store._conn.commit()
+            except Exception:
+                pass  # Non-critical — don't fail search over a counter update
+
         return results
 
     def probe(
diff --git a/tests/plugins/memory/test_holographic_retrieval_count.py b/tests/plugins/memory/test_holographic_retrieval_count.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..8f38f2b618656
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/plugins/memory/test_holographic_retrieval_count.py
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+"""Test that retrieval.search() increments retrieval_count (#17899)."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sqlite3
+import types
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+
+
+@pytest.fixture()
+def _memory_store(tmp_path):
+    """Create a minimal in-memory MemoryStore-like object with a real SQLite DB."""
+    db_path = tmp_path / "facts.db"
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(str(db_path))
+    conn.execute("CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE IF NOT EXISTS facts_fts USING fts5(content, tags, fact_id UNINDEXED)")
+    conn.execute(
+        """CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS facts (
+            fact_id TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+            content TEXT,
+            tags TEXT DEFAULT '',
+            category TEXT DEFAULT 'general',
+            trust_score REAL DEFAULT 0.8,
+            retrieval_count INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
+            helpful_count INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
+            created_at TEXT,
+            updated_at TEXT,
+            hrr_vector BLOB DEFAULT NULL
+        )"""
+    )
+    # Insert a test fact
+    conn.execute(
+        "INSERT INTO facts (fact_id, content, tags, category, trust_score, retrieval_count) "
+        "VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",
+        ("fact-1", "Python is a programming language", "python coding", "general", 0.9, 0),
+    )
+    conn.execute(
+        "INSERT INTO facts_fts (fact_id, content, tags) VALUES (?, ?, ?)",
+        ("fact-1", "Python is a programming language", "python coding"),
+    )
+    conn.commit()
+
+    store = MagicMock()
+    store._conn = conn
+    return store
+
+
+def test_search_increments_retrieval_count(_memory_store):
+    """retrieval.search() must increment retrieval_count for returned facts."""
+    from plugins.memory.holographic.retrieval import FactRetriever
+
+    retriever = FactRetriever(store=_memory_store)
+
+    # Patch _fts_candidates to return our test fact directly
+    retriever._fts_candidates = lambda query, category, min_trust, limit: [
+        {
+            "fact_id": "fact-1",
+            "content": "Python is a programming language",
+            "tags": "python coding",
+            "category": "general",
+            "trust_score": 0.9,
+            "retrieval_count": 0,
+            "helpful_count": 0,
+            "created_at": None,
+            "updated_at": None,
+            "fts_rank": 0.8,
+            "hrr_vector": None,
+        }
+    ]
+
+    results = retriever.search("Python programming")
+    assert len(results) == 1
+    assert results[0]["fact_id"] == "fact-1"
+
+    # Verify retrieval_count was incremented in the DB
+    row = _memory_store._conn.execute(
+        "SELECT retrieval_count FROM facts WHERE fact_id = ?", ("fact-1",)
+    ).fetchone()
+    assert row[0] == 1, f"Expected retrieval_count=1, got {row[0]}"
+
+    # Search again — should increment to 2
+    results = retriever.search("Python programming")
+    row = _memory_store._conn.execute(
+        "SELECT retrieval_count FROM facts WHERE fact_id = ?", ("fact-1",)
+    ).fetchone()
+    assert row[0] == 2, f"Expected retrieval_count=2, got {row[0]}"