diff --git a/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py b/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py
index ef7a934..70dfffc 100755
--- a/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py
+++ b/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py
@@ -486,9 +486,10 @@ class Kernel(Configurable):
                                                         raw=raw, output=output)
 
         elif hist_access_type == 'search':
+            n = parent['content']['n']
             pattern = parent['content']['pattern']
             hist = self.shell.history_manager.search(pattern, raw=raw,
-                                                     output=output) 
+                                                     output=output, n=n)
 
         else:
             hist = []
diff --git a/docs/source/development/messaging.txt b/docs/source/development/messaging.txt
index c98041d..55bfbf9 100644
--- a/docs/source/development/messaging.txt
+++ b/docs/source/development/messaging.txt
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ Message type: ``history_request``::
       'start' : int,
       'stop' : int,
       
-      # If hist_access_type is 'tail', get the last n cells.
+      # If hist_access_type is 'tail' or 'search', get the last n cells.
       'n' : int,
       
       # If hist_access_type is 'search', get cells matching the specified glob