diff --git a/actions/list_datasets.go b/actions/list_datasets.go
index c6eb0a9f6..9552f81f5 100644
--- a/actions/list_datasets.go
+++ b/actions/list_datasets.go
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ import (
 )
 
 // ListDatasets lists a peer's datasets
-func ListDatasets(node *p2p.QriNode, ds *repo.DatasetRef, limit, offset int, RPC, publishedOnly, showVersions bool) (res []repo.DatasetRef, err error) {
+func ListDatasets(node *p2p.QriNode, ds *repo.DatasetRef, term string, limit, offset int, RPC, publishedOnly, showVersions bool) (res []repo.DatasetRef, err error) {
+
 	r := node.Repo
 	pro, err := r.Profile()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@ func ListDatasets(node *p2p.QriNode, ds *repo.DatasetRef, limit, offset int, RPC
 		}
 
 		res, err = node.RequestDatasetsList(pro.PeerIDs[0], p2p.DatasetsListParams{
+			Term:   term,
 			Limit:  limit,
 			Offset: offset,
 		})
@@ -74,5 +76,5 @@ func ListDatasets(node *p2p.QriNode, ds *repo.DatasetRef, limit, offset int, RPC
 		return
 	}
 
-	return base.ListDatasets(node.Repo, limit, offset, RPC, publishedOnly, showVersions)
+	return base.ListDatasets(node.Repo, term, limit, offset, RPC, publishedOnly, showVersions)
 }
diff --git a/actions/list_datasets_test.go b/actions/list_datasets_test.go
index 68e5d4d86..188f3fbd1 100644
--- a/actions/list_datasets_test.go
+++ b/actions/list_datasets_test.go
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ func TestListDatasets(t *testing.T) {
 	node := newTestNode(t)
 	addCitiesDataset(t, node)
 
-	res, err := ListDatasets(node, &repo.DatasetRef{Peername: "me"}, 1, 0, false, false, false)
+	res, err := ListDatasets(node, &repo.DatasetRef{Peername: "me"}, "", 1, 0, false, false, false)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Error(err.Error())
 	}
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func TestListDatasetsNotFound(t *testing.T) {
 	node := newTestNode(t)
 	addCitiesDataset(t, node)
 
-	_, err := ListDatasets(node, &repo.DatasetRef{Peername: "not_found"}, 1, 0, false, false, false)
+	_, err := ListDatasets(node, &repo.DatasetRef{Peername: "not_found"}, "", 1, 0, false, false, false)
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Error("expected to get error")
 	}
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func TestListDatasetsWithVersions(t *testing.T) {
 	node := newTestNode(t)
 	addCitiesDataset(t, node)
 
-	res, err := ListDatasets(node, &repo.DatasetRef{Peername: "me"}, 1, 0, false, false, true)
+	res, err := ListDatasets(node, &repo.DatasetRef{Peername: "me"}, "", 1, 0, false, false, true)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Error(err.Error())
 	}
diff --git a/base/dataset.go b/base/dataset.go
index 7baf0c8b7..39033d765 100644
--- a/base/dataset.go
+++ b/base/dataset.go
@@ -75,14 +75,30 @@ func CloseDataset(ds *dataset.Dataset) (err error) {
 }
 
 // ListDatasets lists datasets from a repo
-func ListDatasets(r repo.Repo, limit, offset int, RPC, publishedOnly, showVersions bool) (res []repo.DatasetRef, err error) {
+func ListDatasets(r repo.Repo, term string, limit, offset int, RPC, publishedOnly, showVersions bool) (res []repo.DatasetRef, err error) {
 	store := r.Store()
-	res, err = r.References(limit, offset)
+	num, err := r.RefCount()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	res, err = r.References(num, 0)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Debug(err.Error())
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error getting dataset list: %s", err.Error())
 	}
 
+	if term != "" {
+		matched := make([]repo.DatasetRef, len(res))
+		i := 0
+		for _, ref := range res {
+			if strings.Contains(ref.Name, term) {
+				matched[i] = ref
+				i++
+			}
+		}
+		res = matched[:i]
+	}
+
 	if publishedOnly {
 		pub := make([]repo.DatasetRef, len(res))
 		i := 0
diff --git a/base/dataset_test.go b/base/dataset_test.go
index db990ec68..645f0e7d1 100644
--- a/base/dataset_test.go
+++ b/base/dataset_test.go
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ func TestListDatasets(t *testing.T) {
 	r := newTestRepo(t)
 	ref := addCitiesDataset(t, r)
 
-	res, err := ListDatasets(r, 1, 0, false, false, false)
+	// Limit to one
+	res, err := ListDatasets(r, "", 1, 0, false, false, false)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Error(err.Error())
 	}
@@ -33,7 +34,8 @@ func TestListDatasets(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error("expected one dataset response")
 	}
 
-	res, err = ListDatasets(r, 1, 0, false, true, false)
+	// Limit to published datasets
+	res, err = ListDatasets(r, "", 1, 0, false, true, false)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Error(err.Error())
 	}
@@ -46,7 +48,8 @@ func TestListDatasets(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	res, err = ListDatasets(r, 1, 0, false, true, false)
+	// Limit to published datasets, after publishing cities
+	res, err = ListDatasets(r, "", 1, 0, false, true, false)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Error(err.Error())
 	}
@@ -54,6 +57,24 @@ func TestListDatasets(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(res) != 1 {
 		t.Error("expected one published dataset response")
 	}
+
+	// Limit to datasets with "city" in their name
+	res, err = ListDatasets(r, "city", 1, 0, false, false, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Error(err.Error())
+	}
+	if len(res) != 0 {
+		t.Error("expected no datasets with \"city\" in their name")
+	}
+
+	// Limit to datasets with "cit" in their name
+	res, err = ListDatasets(r, "cit", 1, 0, false, false, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Error(err.Error())
+	}
+	if len(res) != 1 {
+		t.Error("expected one dataset with \"cit\" in their name")
+	}
 }
 
 func TestCreateDataset(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/cmd/list.go b/cmd/list.go
index 0f474ac5a..184fcc1b0 100644
--- a/cmd/list.go
+++ b/cmd/list.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package cmd
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
-	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/qri-io/dataset"
 	"github.com/qri-io/ioes"
@@ -23,19 +22,23 @@ func NewListCommand(f Factory, ioStreams ioes.IOStreams) *cobra.Command {
 List shows lists of datasets, including names and current hashes. 
 
 The default list is the latest version of all datasets you have on your local 
-qri repository.
+qri repository. The first argument can be used to find datasets with a certain 
+substring in their name.
 
 When used in conjunction with ` + "`qri connect`" + `, list can list a peer's dataset. You
 must have ` + "`qri connect`" + ` running in a separate terminal window.`,
 		Example: `  # show all of your datasets:
   qri list
 
+  # show datasets with the substring "new" in their name
+  qri list new
+
   # to view the list of your peer's dataset,
   # in one terminal window:
   qri connect
 
   # in a separate terminal window, to show all of b5's datasets:
-  qri list b5`,
+  qri list --peer b5`,
 		Annotations: map[string]string{
 			"group": "dataset",
 		},
@@ -52,6 +55,7 @@ must have ` + "`qri connect`" + ` running in a separate terminal window.`,
 	cmd.Flags().IntVarP(&o.Offset, "offset", "o", 0, "offset results, default 0")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.Published, "published", "p", false, "list only published datasets")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&o.ShowNumVersions, "num-versions", "n", false, "show number of versions")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&o.Peername, "peer", "", "peer whose datasets to list")
 
 	return cmd
 }
@@ -63,6 +67,7 @@ type ListOptions struct {
 	Format          string
 	Limit           int
 	Offset          int
+	Term            string
 	Peername        string
 	Published       bool
 	ShowNumVersions bool
@@ -73,7 +78,7 @@ type ListOptions struct {
 // Complete adds any missing configuration that can only be added just before calling Run
 func (o *ListOptions) Complete(f Factory, args []string) (err error) {
 	if len(args) > 0 {
-		o.Peername = args[0]
+		o.Term = args[0]
 	}
 	o.DatasetRequests, err = f.DatasetRequests()
 	return
@@ -83,62 +88,30 @@ func (o *ListOptions) Complete(f Factory, args []string) (err error) {
 func (o *ListOptions) Run() (err error) {
 
 	refs := []repo.DatasetRef{}
+	p := &lib.ListParams{
+		Term:            o.Term,
+		Peername:        o.Peername,
+		Limit:           o.Limit,
+		Offset:          o.Offset,
+		Published:       o.Published,
+		ShowNumVersions: o.ShowNumVersions,
+	}
+	if err = o.DatasetRequests.List(p, &refs); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
-	if o.Peername == "" {
-
-		p := &lib.ListParams{
-			Limit:           o.Limit,
-			Offset:          o.Offset,
-			Published:       o.Published,
-			ShowNumVersions: o.ShowNumVersions,
-		}
-		if err = o.DatasetRequests.List(p, &refs); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-	} else {
-		// if user provides "me/my_dataset", split into peername="me" and name="my_dataset"
-		peername := o.Peername
-		dsName := ""
-		parts := strings.Split(peername, "/")
-		if len(parts) > 1 {
-			peername = parts[0]
-			dsName = parts[1]
-		}
-		// TODO: It would be a bit more efficient to pass dsName to the ListParams
-		// and only retrieve information about that one dataset.
-		p := &lib.ListParams{
-			Peername:        peername,
-			Limit:           o.Limit,
-			Offset:          o.Offset,
-			ShowNumVersions: o.ShowNumVersions,
-		}
-		if err = o.DatasetRequests.List(p, &refs); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-
-		replace := make([]repo.DatasetRef, 0)
-		for _, ref := range refs {
-			// remove profileID so names print pretty
-			ref.ProfileID = ""
-			// if there's a dsName that restricts the list operation, append matches
-			if dsName != "" && dsName == ref.Name {
-				replace = append(replace, ref)
-			}
-		}
-
-		// if there's a dsName that restricts the list operation, only show that dataset
-		if dsName != "" {
-			refs = replace
-		}
+	for _, ref := range refs {
+		// remove profileID so names print pretty
+		ref.ProfileID = ""
+	}
 
-		if len(refs) == 0 {
-			if dsName != "" {
-				printInfo(o.Out, "%s has no datasets that match \"%s\"", peername, dsName)
-			} else {
-				printInfo(o.Out, "%s has no datasets", peername)
-			}
-			return
+	if len(refs) == 0 {
+		if o.Term == "" {
+			printInfo(o.Out, "%s has no datasets", o.Peername)
+		} else {
+			printInfo(o.Out, "%s has no datasets that match \"%s\"", o.Peername, o.Term)
 		}
+		return
 	}
 
 	switch o.Format {
diff --git a/lib/datasets.go b/lib/datasets.go
index 530b09bea..732d7bddf 100644
--- a/lib/datasets.go
+++ b/lib/datasets.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func (r *DatasetRequests) List(p *ListParams, res *[]repo.DatasetRef) error {
 		p.Offset = 0
 	}
 
-	replies, err := actions.ListDatasets(r.node, ds, p.Limit, p.Offset, p.RPC, p.Published, p.ShowNumVersions)
+	replies, err := actions.ListDatasets(r.node, ds, p.Term, p.Limit, p.Offset, p.RPC, p.Published, p.ShowNumVersions)
 
 	*res = replies
 	return err
diff --git a/lib/params.go b/lib/params.go
index ae5d9184f..979896853 100644
--- a/lib/params.go
+++ b/lib/params.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ const DefaultPageSize = 100
 // TODO - rename this to PageParams.
 type ListParams struct {
 	ProfileID profile.ID
+	Term      string
 	Peername  string
 	OrderBy   string
 	Limit     int
diff --git a/p2p/datasets.go b/p2p/datasets.go
index eb067d99c..c9eecc5e7 100644
--- a/p2p/datasets.go
+++ b/p2p/datasets.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ const listMax = 30
 
 // DatasetsListParams encapsulates options for requesting datasets
 type DatasetsListParams struct {
+	Term   string
 	Limit  int
 	Offset int
 }
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ func (n *QriNode) handleDatasetsList(ws *WrappedStream, msg Message) (hangup boo
 			dlp.Limit = listMax
 		}
 
-		refs, err := base.ListDatasets(n.Repo, dlp.Limit, dlp.Offset, false, true, false)
+		refs, err := base.ListDatasets(n.Repo, dlp.Term, dlp.Limit, dlp.Offset, false, true, false)
 		if err != nil {
 			log.Error(err)
 			return