diff --git a/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py b/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py
index a673dcef846c..eacdd8cd5a05 100644
--- a/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py
+++ b/plugins/memory/holographic/retrieval.py
@@ -6,10 +6,13 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import logging
 import math
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from .store import MemoryStore
 
@@ -106,6 +109,20 @@ def search(
         # Sort by score descending, return top limit
         scored.sort(key=lambda x: x["score"], reverse=True)
         results = scored[:limit]
+
+        # Increment retrieval_count for returned facts (fixes #17899)
+        if results:
+            try:
+                ids = [r["fact_id"] for r in results]
+                placeholders = ",".join("?" * len(ids))
+                self.store._conn.execute(
+                    f"UPDATE facts SET retrieval_count = retrieval_count + 1 WHERE fact_id IN ({placeholders})",
+                    ids,
+                )
+                self.store._conn.commit()
+            except Exception:
+                logger.debug("Failed to increment retrieval_count", exc_info=True)
+
         # Strip raw HRR bytes — callers expect JSON-serializable dicts
         for fact in results:
             fact.pop("hrr_vector", None)
diff --git a/tests/plugins/memory/test_retrieval_count.py b/tests/plugins/memory/test_retrieval_count.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..724ad5b71bb5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/plugins/memory/test_retrieval_count.py
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+"""Tests for holographic memory retrieval_count increment (#17899).
+
+retrieval_count was never incremented because FactRetriever.search()
+bypassed store.search_facts(), the only place that bumped the counter.
+"""
+
+import pytest
+
+from plugins.memory.holographic.store import MemoryStore
+from plugins.memory.holographic.retrieval import FactRetriever
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def store(tmp_path):
+    db = str(tmp_path / "test_memory.db")
+    return MemoryStore(db_path=db, default_trust=0.5, hrr_dim=128)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def retriever(store):
+    return FactRetriever(store=store, hrr_dim=128, hrr_weight=0.0)
+
+
+class TestRetrievalCount:
+    """retrieval_count should be incremented when facts are retrieved."""
+
+    def test_search_increments_count(self, store, retriever):
+        """After searching, retrieval_count should go from 0 to >= 1."""
+        fact_id = store.add_fact("Python is a programming language")
+
+        # Verify starting at 0
+        row = store._conn.execute(
+            "SELECT retrieval_count FROM facts WHERE fact_id = ?", (fact_id,)
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert row["retrieval_count"] == 0
+
+        # Search and find it
+        results = retriever.search("Python", min_trust=0.0)
+        assert len(results) >= 1
+
+        # Verify incremented
+        row = store._conn.execute(
+            "SELECT retrieval_count FROM facts WHERE fact_id = ?", (fact_id,)
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert row["retrieval_count"] >= 1
+
+    def test_multiple_searches_accumulate(self, store, retriever):
+        """Multiple searches should keep incrementing."""
+        store.add_fact("Rust is memory safe")
+
+        retriever.search("Rust", min_trust=0.0)
+        retriever.search("Rust", min_trust=0.0)
+        retriever.search("Rust", min_trust=0.0)
+
+        row = store._conn.execute(
+            "SELECT retrieval_count FROM facts WHERE content LIKE '%Rust%'"
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert row["retrieval_count"] >= 3
+
+    def test_unrelated_search_no_increment(self, store, retriever):
+        """Searching for something else shouldn't increment unrelated facts."""
+        fact_id = store.add_fact("Haskell is purely functional")
+        store.add_fact("Rust is memory safe")
+
+        retriever.search("Rust", min_trust=0.0)
+
+        row = store._conn.execute(
+            "SELECT retrieval_count FROM facts WHERE fact_id = ?", (fact_id,)
+        ).fetchone()
+        assert row["retrieval_count"] == 0