diff --git a/serve/src/pixelrag_serve/api.py b/serve/src/pixelrag_serve/api.py
index 65b6d40..b73ad5b 100644
--- a/serve/src/pixelrag_serve/api.py
+++ b/serve/src/pixelrag_serve/api.py
@@ -147,6 +147,7 @@ class SearchRequest(BaseModel):
     instruction: str | None = None  # override query embedding instruction
     include_images: bool = False  # return base64-encoded tile images
     articles_only: bool = False  # drop Wikipedia meta pages (Portal:, List_of_, …)
+    hybrid: bool = False  # enable hybrid text+visual search (RRF fusion with BM25)
 
 
 # Wikipedia meta/aggregator pages that pollute "find the article" results.
@@ -431,6 +432,33 @@ async def search(req: SearchRequest):
         index.nprobe = default_nprobe
     t_search = time.time() - t0 - t_encode
 
+    # Hybrid: fuse FAISS visual results with BM25 text results via RRF
+    if req.hybrid and _state.get("bm25") and _state["bm25"].loaded:
+        from .hybrid import reciprocal_rank_fusion
+
+        for qi in range(len(req.queries)):
+            query_text = req.queries[qi].text
+            if not query_text:
+                continue
+            # Get FAISS ranked list
+            faiss_ranked = [
+                (int(indices[qi, j]), float(distances[qi, j]))
+                for j in range(fetch_k)
+                if int(indices[qi, j]) != -1
+            ]
+            # Get BM25 ranked list
+            bm25_ranked = _state["bm25"].search(query_text, k=fetch_k)
+            # Fuse
+            fused = reciprocal_rank_fusion([faiss_ranked, bm25_ranked])
+            # Rewrite indices/distances for this query with fused order
+            for j, (vid, rrf_score) in enumerate(fused[:fetch_k]):
+                indices[qi, j] = vid
+                distances[qi, j] = rrf_score
+            # Pad remaining with -1
+            for j in range(len(fused), fetch_k):
+                indices[qi, j] = -1
+                distances[qi, j] = 0.0
+
     # Build results
     meta = _state["metadata"]
     article_ids = meta["article_ids"]
@@ -670,6 +698,12 @@ def load(args):
             cache,
         )
 
+    # Optional: BM25 text index for hybrid search (RRF fusion)
+    from .hybrid import load_or_build_bm25
+
+    bm25 = load_or_build_bm25(args.index_dir, args.articles_json)
+    _state["bm25"] = bm25
+
 
 def _derive_kiwix_book(kiwix_url: str) -> str:
     """Read the kiwix-serve catalog and return the /content/<book> id."""
diff --git a/serve/src/pixelrag_serve/hybrid.py b/serve/src/pixelrag_serve/hybrid.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..251eb4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/serve/src/pixelrag_serve/hybrid.py
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+"""Hybrid search: BM25 text index + Reciprocal Rank Fusion with FAISS visual results.
+
+Builds an inverted text index from article text (extracted during indexing or from
+OCR/page content). At query time, fuses BM25 text results with FAISS visual results
+using Reciprocal Rank Fusion (RRF), improving precision on text-heavy queries while
+retaining visual retrieval for tables/charts/diagrams.
+
+Reference: Cormack, Clarke & Buettcher (2009) — "Reciprocal Rank Fusion outperforms
+Condorcet and individual Rank Learning Methods"
+"""
+
+import json
+import logging
+import math
+import os
+import re
+from collections import defaultdict
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# BM25 parameters (tuned for short document chunks)
+_K1 = 1.2
+_B = 0.75
+
+
+def _tokenize(text: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Simple whitespace + punctuation tokenizer with lowercasing."""
+    return re.findall(r"[a-z0-9]+", text.lower())
+
+
+class BM25Index:
+    """In-memory BM25 inverted index over article/chunk text.
+
+    Each document is identified by its vector_id (matching FAISS metadata).
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.doc_count = 0
+        self.avg_dl = 0.0
+        self.doc_lens: dict[int, int] = {}  # vector_id → doc length
+        self.df: dict[str, int] = defaultdict(int)  # term → doc frequency
+        self.tf: dict[int, dict[str, int]] = {}  # vector_id → {term: freq}
+        self._loaded = False
+
+    @property
+    def loaded(self) -> bool:
+        return self._loaded
+
+    def build_from_texts(self, texts: dict[int, str]):
+        """Build index from {vector_id: text_content} mapping."""
+        self.doc_count = len(texts)
+        total_len = 0
+
+        for vid, text in texts.items():
+            tokens = _tokenize(text)
+            self.doc_lens[vid] = len(tokens)
+            total_len += len(tokens)
+
+            term_freqs: dict[str, int] = defaultdict(int)
+            for token in tokens:
+                term_freqs[token] += 1
+            self.tf[vid] = dict(term_freqs)
+
+            for term in term_freqs:
+                self.df[term] += 1
+
+        self.avg_dl = total_len / max(self.doc_count, 1)
+        self._loaded = True
+        logger.info("BM25 index built: %d docs, %d terms", self.doc_count, len(self.df))
+
+    def search(self, query: str, k: int = 100) -> list[tuple[int, float]]:
+        """Return top-k (vector_id, score) pairs ranked by BM25 score."""
+        if not self._loaded:
+            return []
+
+        tokens = _tokenize(query)
+        if not tokens:
+            return []
+
+        scores: dict[int, float] = defaultdict(float)
+
+        for term in tokens:
+            if term not in self.df:
+                continue
+            idf = math.log(
+                (self.doc_count - self.df[term] + 0.5) / (self.df[term] + 0.5) + 1.0
+            )
+            for vid, term_freqs in self.tf.items():
+                if term not in term_freqs:
+                    continue
+                tf = term_freqs[term]
+                dl = self.doc_lens[vid]
+                numerator = tf * (_K1 + 1)
+                denominator = tf + _K1 * (1 - _B + _B * dl / self.avg_dl)
+                scores[vid] += idf * numerator / denominator
+
+        ranked = sorted(scores.items(), key=lambda x: -x[1])
+        return ranked[:k]
+
+    def save(self, path: str):
+        """Persist to JSON for fast reload."""
+        data = {
+            "doc_count": self.doc_count,
+            "avg_dl": self.avg_dl,
+            "doc_lens": self.doc_lens,
+            "df": dict(self.df),
+            "tf": {str(k): v for k, v in self.tf.items()},
+        }
+        with open(path, "w") as f:
+            json.dump(data, f)
+        logger.info("BM25 index saved: %s (%.1f MB)", path, os.path.getsize(path) / 1e6)
+
+    def load(self, path: str) -> bool:
+        """Load from JSON. Returns True on success."""
+        if not os.path.exists(path):
+            return False
+        with open(path) as f:
+            data = json.load(f)
+        self.doc_count = data["doc_count"]
+        self.avg_dl = data["avg_dl"]
+        self.doc_lens = {int(k): v for k, v in data["doc_lens"].items()}
+        self.df = defaultdict(int, data["df"])
+        self.tf = {int(k): v for k, v in data["tf"].items()}
+        self._loaded = True
+        logger.info("BM25 index loaded: %d docs, %d terms", self.doc_count, len(self.df))
+        return True
+
+
+def reciprocal_rank_fusion(
+    ranked_lists: list[list[tuple[int, float]]],
+    k: int = 60,
+) -> list[tuple[int, float]]:
+    """Fuse multiple ranked result lists using RRF.
+
+    Args:
+        ranked_lists: List of ranked results, each is [(vector_id, score), ...]
+        k: RRF constant (default 60, from the original paper)
+
+    Returns:
+        Fused ranked list of (vector_id, rrf_score) sorted descending.
+    """
+    fused_scores: dict[int, float] = defaultdict(float)
+
+    for ranked in ranked_lists:
+        for rank, (vid, _score) in enumerate(ranked):
+            fused_scores[vid] += 1.0 / (k + rank + 1)
+
+    return sorted(fused_scores.items(), key=lambda x: -x[1])
+
+
+def build_text_index_from_articles(
+    articles_json: str,
+    metadata_path: str | None = None,
+) -> BM25Index:
+    """Build BM25 index from articles.json titles/URLs.
+
+    For a richer index, pass article page text via metadata. This minimal
+    version uses article titles as the text representation — still useful
+    for entity/name queries like "Albert Einstein" or "Python programming".
+    """
+    index = BM25Index()
+    texts: dict[int, str] = {}
+
+    with open(articles_json) as f:
+        articles = json.load(f)
+
+    for vid, article in enumerate(articles):
+        # Use title + URL path as searchable text
+        title = article.get("title", "")
+        url = article.get("url", "")
+        # Extract meaningful text from URL path
+        url_text = url.split("/")[-1].replace("_", " ").replace("%20", " ") if url else ""
+        text = f"{title} {url_text}"
+        if text.strip():
+            texts[vid] = text
+
+    index.build_from_texts(texts)
+    return index
+
+
+def load_or_build_bm25(index_dir: str, articles_json: str) -> BM25Index:
+    """Load cached BM25 index or build from articles.json."""
+    bm25_path = os.path.join(index_dir, "bm25_index.json")
+    index = BM25Index()
+
+    if index.load(bm25_path):
+        return index
+
+    # Build and cache
+    index = build_text_index_from_articles(articles_json)
+    if index.loaded:
+        index.save(bm25_path)
+    return index
diff --git a/tests/test_hybrid_search.py b/tests/test_hybrid_search.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f406e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_hybrid_search.py
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+"""Tests for hybrid search: BM25 index + Reciprocal Rank Fusion."""
+
+import json
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parents[1] / "serve" / "src"))
+from pixelrag_serve.hybrid import BM25Index, reciprocal_rank_fusion, load_or_build_bm25
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def bm25():
+    idx = BM25Index()
+    idx.build_from_texts({
+        0: "Python programming language created by Guido van Rossum",
+        1: "Machine learning neural networks deep learning",
+        2: "Albert Einstein theory of relativity physics Nobel Prize",
+        3: "JavaScript React frontend web development",
+        4: "Python snake reptile biology animal",
+    })
+    return idx
+
+
+def test_bm25_basic_search(bm25):
+    """BM25 should rank relevant docs highest."""
+    results = bm25.search("Python programming", k=5)
+    # Doc 0 (Python programming) should rank first
+    assert results[0][0] == 0
+    assert results[0][1] > 0
+
+
+def test_bm25_disambiguates(bm25):
+    """'Python snake' should prefer the reptile doc over the programming one."""
+    results = bm25.search("python snake reptile", k=5)
+    vids = [vid for vid, _ in results]
+    # Doc 4 (snake) should rank above doc 0 (programming)
+    assert vids.index(4) < vids.index(0)
+
+
+def test_bm25_empty_query(bm25):
+    """Empty or punctuation-only queries should return empty."""
+    assert bm25.search("") == []
+    assert bm25.search("!!! ???") == []
+
+
+def test_bm25_unknown_terms(bm25):
+    """Query with no matching terms returns empty."""
+    assert bm25.search("xyzzy frobnicator") == []
+
+
+def test_bm25_save_load(bm25, tmp_path):
+    """Save and reload should produce identical search results."""
+    path = str(tmp_path / "bm25.json")
+    bm25.save(path)
+
+    loaded = BM25Index()
+    assert loaded.load(path)
+    assert loaded.doc_count == bm25.doc_count
+
+    # Same results
+    r1 = bm25.search("Einstein physics")
+    r2 = loaded.search("Einstein physics")
+    assert [vid for vid, _ in r1] == [vid for vid, _ in r2]
+
+
+def test_rrf_fuses_two_lists():
+    """RRF should combine rankings from two sources."""
+    # Visual search ranks: doc 5, doc 3, doc 1
+    visual = [(5, 0.9), (3, 0.7), (1, 0.5)]
+    # Text search ranks: doc 1, doc 5, doc 7
+    text = [(1, 3.2), (5, 2.1), (7, 1.0)]
+
+    fused = reciprocal_rank_fusion([visual, text])
+    fused_vids = [vid for vid, _ in fused]
+
+    # Doc 5 appears at rank 0 in visual and rank 1 in text — strong signal
+    # Doc 1 appears at rank 2 in visual and rank 0 in text — also strong
+    assert 5 in fused_vids[:2]
+    assert 1 in fused_vids[:2]
+    # Doc 7 only in text — should rank lower
+    assert fused_vids.index(7) > fused_vids.index(5)
+
+
+def test_rrf_single_list():
+    """RRF with one list should preserve original order."""
+    ranked = [(10, 0.9), (20, 0.8), (30, 0.7)]
+    fused = reciprocal_rank_fusion([ranked])
+    assert [vid for vid, _ in fused] == [10, 20, 30]
+
+
+def test_load_or_build_from_articles(tmp_path):
+    """Integration: build BM25 from articles.json and search."""
+    articles = [
+        {"title": "Python (programming language)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)"},
+        {"title": "Albert Einstein", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein"},
+        {"title": "Machine learning", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_learning"},
+    ]
+    articles_path = tmp_path / "articles.json"
+    articles_path.write_text(json.dumps(articles))
+    index_dir = str(tmp_path)
+
+    bm25 = load_or_build_bm25(index_dir, str(articles_path))
+    assert bm25.loaded
+    assert bm25.doc_count == 3
+
+    # Should find Einstein
+    results = bm25.search("Einstein")
+    assert results[0][0] == 1  # article index 1
+
+    # Cache file should exist
+    assert (tmp_path / "bm25_index.json").exists()
+
+    # Reload from cache
+    bm25_cached = load_or_build_bm25(index_dir, str(articles_path))
+    assert bm25_cached.loaded