diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/config.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/config.ts
index bfc4f26e53b..4a2bc9c5dea 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/config.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/config.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ export interface FeatureToggles {
   accesscontrol: boolean;
   tempoServiceGraph: boolean;
   tempoSearch: boolean;
+  tempoBackendSearch: boolean;
   recordedQueries: boolean;
   newNavigation: boolean;
   fullRangeLogsVolume: boolean;
diff --git a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/config.ts b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/config.ts
index bde25a8b709..dcfd4b97223 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-runtime/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-runtime/src/config.ts
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ export class GrafanaBootConfig implements GrafanaConfig {
     trimDefaults: false,
     tempoServiceGraph: false,
     tempoSearch: false,
+    tempoBackendSearch: false,
     recordedQueries: false,
     newNavigation: false,
     fullRangeLogsVolume: false,
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/QueryEditor/QueryField.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/QueryEditor/QueryField.tsx
index 11ed19319db..e4ce99fa7f1 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/QueryEditor/QueryField.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/QueryEditor/QueryField.tsx
@@ -136,8 +136,15 @@ class TempoQueryFieldComponent extends React.PureComponent<Props, State> {
         {query.queryType === 'nativeSearch' && (
           <p style={{ maxWidth: '65ch' }}>
             <Badge icon="rocket" text="Beta" color="blue" />
-            &nbsp;Tempo search is currently in beta and is designed to return recent traces only. It ignores the time
-            range picker. We are actively working on full backend search. Look for improvements in the near future!
+            {config.featureToggles.tempoBackendSearch ? (
+              <>&nbsp;Tempo search is currently in beta.</>
+            ) : (
+              <>
+                &nbsp;Tempo search is currently in beta and is designed to return recent traces only. It ignores the
+                time range picker. We are actively working on full backend search. Look for improvements in the near
+                future!
+              </>
+            )}
           </p>
         )}
         {query.queryType === 'search' && (
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.test.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.test.ts
index 7e6ff2ef9a8..cd5193f710f 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.test.ts
@@ -169,6 +169,24 @@ describe('Tempo data source', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it('should include time range if provided', () => {
+    const ds = new TempoDatasource(defaultSettings);
+    const tempoQuery: TempoQuery = {
+      queryType: 'search',
+      refId: 'A',
+      query: '',
+      search: '',
+    };
+    const timeRange = { startTime: 0, endTime: 1000 };
+    const builtQuery = ds.buildSearchQuery(tempoQuery, timeRange);
+    expect(builtQuery).toStrictEqual({
+      tags: '',
+      limit: DEFAULT_LIMIT,
+      start: timeRange.startTime,
+      end: timeRange.endTime,
+    });
+  });
+
   it('formats native search query history correctly', () => {
     const ds = new TempoDatasource(defaultSettings);
     const tempoQuery: TempoQuery = {
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.ts
index d70e58680aa..4e5e18665b8 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/tempo/datasource.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import {
   LoadingState,
 } from '@grafana/data';
 import { TraceToLogsOptions } from 'app/core/components/TraceToLogsSettings';
-import { BackendSrvRequest, DataSourceWithBackend, getBackendSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { config, BackendSrvRequest, DataSourceWithBackend, getBackendSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import { serializeParams } from 'app/core/utils/fetch';
 import { getDatasourceSrv } from 'app/features/plugins/datasource_srv';
 import { identity, pick, pickBy, groupBy, startCase } from 'lodash';
@@ -55,6 +55,15 @@ export type TempoQuery = {
   serviceMapQuery?: string;
 } & DataQuery;
 
+interface SearchQueryParams {
+  minDuration?: string;
+  maxDuration?: string;
+  limit?: number;
+  tags: string;
+  start?: number;
+  end?: number;
+}
+
 export const DEFAULT_LIMIT = 20;
 
 export class TempoDatasource extends DataSourceWithBackend<TempoQuery, TempoJsonData> {
@@ -116,7 +125,10 @@ export class TempoDatasource extends DataSourceWithBackend<TempoQuery, TempoJson
 
     if (targets.nativeSearch?.length) {
       try {
-        const searchQuery = this.buildSearchQuery(targets.nativeSearch[0]);
+        const timeRange = config.featureToggles.tempoBackendSearch
+          ? { startTime: options.range.from.unix(), endTime: options.range.to.unix() }
+          : undefined;
+        const searchQuery = this.buildSearchQuery(targets.nativeSearch[0], timeRange);
         subQueries.push(
           this._request('/api/search', searchQuery).pipe(
             map((response) => {
@@ -206,7 +218,7 @@ export class TempoDatasource extends DataSourceWithBackend<TempoQuery, TempoJson
     return query.query;
   }
 
-  buildSearchQuery(query: TempoQuery) {
+  buildSearchQuery(query: TempoQuery, timeRange?: { startTime: number; endTime?: number }): SearchQueryParams {
     let tags = query.search ?? '';
 
     let tempoQuery = pick(query, ['minDuration', 'maxDuration', 'limit']);
@@ -243,7 +255,14 @@ export class TempoDatasource extends DataSourceWithBackend<TempoQuery, TempoJson
       throw new Error('Please enter a valid limit.');
     }
 
-    return { tags, ...tempoQuery };
+    let searchQuery: SearchQueryParams = { tags, ...tempoQuery };
+
+    if (timeRange) {
+      searchQuery.start = timeRange.startTime;
+      searchQuery.end = timeRange.endTime;
+    }
+
+    return searchQuery;
   }
 
   async getServiceGraphLabels() {