diff --git a/changelog/20251106_feature_mongodbsearch_updated_the_default_mongodbmongodb.md b/changelog/20251106_feature_mongodbsearch_updated_the_default_mongodbmongodb.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..540075ffd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/20251106_feature_mongodbsearch_updated_the_default_mongodbmongodb.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+kind: feature
+date: 2025-11-06
+---
+
+* **MongoDBSearch**: Updated the default `mongodb/mongodb-search` image version to 0.55.0. This is the version MCK uses if `.spec.version` is not specified.
diff --git a/config/manager/manager.yaml b/config/manager/manager.yaml
index 86983df12..d34d46926 100644
--- a/config/manager/manager.yaml
+++ b/config/manager/manager.yaml
@@ -307,11 +307,11 @@ spec:
               value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-server:8.0.0-ubi8"
             - name: RELATED_IMAGE_MONGODB_IMAGE_8_0_0_ubi9
               value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-server:8.0.0-ubi9"
-            - name: RELATED_IMAGE_MDB_SEARCH_IMAGE_0_53_1
-              value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-search:0.53.1"
+            - name: RELATED_IMAGE_MDB_SEARCH_IMAGE_0_55_0
+              value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-search:0.55.0"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_REPO_URL
               value: "quay.io/mongodb"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_NAME
               value: "mongodb-search"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_VERSION
-              value: "0.53.1"
+              value: "0.55.0"
diff --git a/helm_chart/values.yaml b/helm_chart/values.yaml
index 02480a913..9990edc82 100644
--- a/helm_chart/values.yaml
+++ b/helm_chart/values.yaml
@@ -228,4 +228,4 @@ search:
   repo: quay.io/mongodb
   name: mongodb-search
   # default MongoDB Search version used; can be overridden by setting MongoDBSearch.spec.version field.
-  version: 0.53.1
+  version: 0.55.0
diff --git a/public/mongodb-kubernetes-multi-cluster.yaml b/public/mongodb-kubernetes-multi-cluster.yaml
index 2bdb16432..29a4520f6 100644
--- a/public/mongodb-kubernetes-multi-cluster.yaml
+++ b/public/mongodb-kubernetes-multi-cluster.yaml
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ spec:
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_NAME
               value: "mongodb-search"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_VERSION
-              value: "0.53.1"
+              value: "0.55.0"
       volumes:
         - name: kube-config-volume
           secret:
diff --git a/public/mongodb-kubernetes-openshift.yaml b/public/mongodb-kubernetes-openshift.yaml
index 1e2862468..8a5ba6f0b 100644
--- a/public/mongodb-kubernetes-openshift.yaml
+++ b/public/mongodb-kubernetes-openshift.yaml
@@ -611,11 +611,11 @@ spec:
               value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-server:8.0.0-ubi8"
             - name: RELATED_IMAGE_MONGODB_IMAGE_8_0_0_ubi9
               value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-enterprise-server:8.0.0-ubi9"
-            - name: RELATED_IMAGE_MDB_SEARCH_IMAGE_0_53_1
-              value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-search:0.53.1"
+            - name: RELATED_IMAGE_MDB_SEARCH_IMAGE_0_55_0
+              value: "quay.io/mongodb/mongodb-search:0.55.0"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_REPO_URL
               value: "quay.io/mongodb"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_NAME
               value: "mongodb-search"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_VERSION
-              value: "0.53.1"
+              value: "0.55.0"
diff --git a/public/mongodb-kubernetes.yaml b/public/mongodb-kubernetes.yaml
index 53de57140..c409d9e5c 100644
--- a/public/mongodb-kubernetes.yaml
+++ b/public/mongodb-kubernetes.yaml
@@ -432,4 +432,4 @@ spec:
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_NAME
               value: "mongodb-search"
             - name: MDB_SEARCH_VERSION
-              value: "0.53.1"
+              value: "0.55.0"
diff --git a/release.json b/release.json
index e09344044..dca46102a 100644
--- a/release.json
+++ b/release.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     "minimumSupportedVersion": "4.6"
   },
   "search": {
-    "version": "0.53.1"
+    "version": "0.55.0"
   },
   "supportedImages": {
     "ops-manager": {