diff --git a/dist/jquery.autocomplete.js b/dist/jquery.autocomplete.js
index 3e8f5272..1f67353e 100644
--- a/dist/jquery.autocomplete.js
+++ b/dist/jquery.autocomplete.js
@@ -584,6 +584,7 @@
                     var result;
                     that.currentRequest = null;
                     result = options.transformResult(data);
+                    if(result.suggestions.length === 0) return;
                     that.processResponse(result, q, cacheKey);
                     options.onSearchComplete.call(that.element, q, result.suggestions);
                 }).fail(function (jqXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {
diff --git a/src/jquery.autocomplete.js b/src/jquery.autocomplete.js
index 9f39ddb2..2c10a7a4 100644
--- a/src/jquery.autocomplete.js
+++ b/src/jquery.autocomplete.js
@@ -584,6 +584,7 @@
                     var result;
                     that.currentRequest = null;
                     result = options.transformResult(data);
+                    if(result.suggestions.length === 0) return;
                     that.processResponse(result, q, cacheKey);
                     options.onSearchComplete.call(that.element, q, result.suggestions);
                 }).fail(function (jqXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {