diff --git a/rest_framework/filters.py b/rest_framework/filters.py
index e05d31ae3..931263670 100644
--- a/rest_framework/filters.py
+++ b/rest_framework/filters.py
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ class SearchFilter(BaseFilterBackend):
             return "%s__iexact" % field_name[1:]
         elif field_name.startswith('@'):
             return "%s__search" % field_name[1:]
+        if field_name.startswith('$'):
+            return "%s__iregex" % field_name[1:]
         else:
             return "%s__icontains" % field_name