diff --git a/src/drawline.c b/src/drawline.c
index fcb996b..13be022 100644
--- a/src/drawline.c
+++ b/src/drawline.c
@@ -1538,6 +1538,9 @@
 	    if (area_attr != 0)
 	    {
 		char_attr = hl_combine_attr(line_attr, area_attr);
+		if (!highlight_match)
+		    // let search highlight show in Visual area if possible
+		    char_attr = hl_combine_attr(search_attr, char_attr);
 # ifdef FEAT_SYN_HL
 		char_attr = hl_combine_attr(syntax_attr, char_attr);
 # endif