diff --git a/regex-automata/src/util/search.rs b/regex-automata/src/util/search.rs
index 05b1cff54..3a81b1da2 100644
--- a/regex-automata/src/util/search.rs
+++ b/regex-automata/src/util/search.rs
@@ -590,7 +590,7 @@ impl<'h> Input<'h> {
     /// assert_eq!(b"foobar", input.haystack());
     /// ```
     #[inline]
-    pub fn haystack(&self) -> &[u8] {
+    pub fn haystack(&self) -> &'h [u8] {
         self.haystack
     }