diff --git a/src/components/autocomplete/js/highlightController.js b/src/components/autocomplete/js/highlightController.js
index 78cf7f4ddcb..f54bd1d6631 100644
--- a/src/components/autocomplete/js/highlightController.js
+++ b/src/components/autocomplete/js/highlightController.js
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ function MdHighlightCtrl ($scope, $element, $interpolate) {
 
   function sanitize (term) {
     if (!term) return term;
-    return term.replace(/[\*\[\]\(\)\{\}\\\^\$]/g, '\\$&');
+    return term.replace(/[\\\^\$\*\+\?\.\(\)\|\{\}\[\]]/g, '\\$&');
   }
 
   function getRegExp (text, flags) {