How to search contacts by phone number in Outlook?

Author Kelly Last modified 2025-04-14

Sometimes, you may remember a contact's phone number but forget other information, such as their name, company, email address, etc. In this case, how can you accurately find the contact? Here, I will show you a couple of ways to search contacts by phone number in Outlook.

If you remember the whole or beginning numbers of the phone number

If you can only remember part of the phone number (not the beginning numbers)

If you remember the whole or beginning numbers of the phone number

Whether you remember the entire phone number or just its beginning, you can type the number directly into the Search Box. Then you will find the contacts associated with this phone number in the search results. See the screenshot:

Note: If you cannot remember which folder the contact with this phone number is saved in, you can search all Contact Items by clicking the "All Contact Items" button on the "Search" tab.

If you can only remember part of the phone number (not the beginning numbers)

In some cases, you may only remember part of a phone number that is not at the beginning. In this situation, you need to use the Advanced Find feature in Outlook.

Step 1: Switch to the People (Contacts) view, and open the contact folder where the contact might be saved.

Step 2: Activate the "Search Tools" by placing the cursor into the Search Box above the contact list. Then click "Search Tools" > "Advanced Find" on the "Search" tab in Outlook 2010 and 2013. See the screenshot:

Notes:

(1) If you are using Outlook 2007, click "Tools" > "Instant Search" > "Advanced Find".

(2) Regardless of whether you are using Outlook 2010, 2013, or 2007, you can open the Advanced Find dialog box by pressing "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "F" simultaneously.

Step 3: In the Advanced Find dialog box, click the "Advanced" tab, and then:

(1) Click "Field" > "Phone number Fields" > "Business Phone" (or other phone fields you think might apply);

(2) In the "Condition" box, select "contains" from the drop-down list;

(3) In the "Value" box, enter the part of the phone number you remember;

(4) Click the "Add to List" button;

(5) Click the "Find Now" button.

Note: You can change the search scope by clicking the "Browse" button and then selecting specific folders in the Select Folders dialog box. See the screenshot below:

Note that you can only select contact folders within a single Outlook data file.