diff --git a/docs/sources/datasources/graphite.md b/docs/sources/datasources/graphite.md
index 4bb4dd68168..a4dbd79fd0d 100644
--- a/docs/sources/datasources/graphite.md
+++ b/docs/sources/datasources/graphite.md
@@ -138,9 +138,34 @@ For more details, see the [Graphite docs on the autocomplete API for tags](http:
 
 ### Query variable
 
-The query you specify in the query field should be a metric find type of query. For example, a query like `prod.servers.*` will fill the
+The query you specify in the query field should be a metric find type of query. For example, a query like `prod.servers.*` fills the
 variable with all possible values that exist in the wildcard position.
 
+The results contain all possible values occurring only at the last level of the query. To get full metric names matching the query 
+use expand function (`expand(*.servers.*)`). 
+
+#### Comparison between expanded and non-expanded metric search results
+
+The expanded query returns the full names of matching metrics. In combination with regex, it can extract any part of the metric name. By contrast, a non-expanded query only returns the last part of the metric name. It does not allow you to extract other parts of metric names. 
+
+Here are some example metrics:
+- `prod.servers.001.cpu`
+- `prod.servers.002.cpu`
+- `test.servers.001.cpu`
+
+The following examples show how expanded and non-expanded queries can be used to fetch specific parts of the metrics name.
+
+| non-expanded query | results | expanded query | expanded results |
+|--------------|---------|----------------|------------------|
+| `*` | prod, test | `expand(*)` | prod, test
+| `*.servers` | servers | `expand(*.servers)` | prod.servers, test.servers |
+| `test.servers` | servers | `expand(test.servers)` | test.servers |
+| `*.servers.*` | 001,002 | `expand(*.servers.*)` | prod.servers.001, prod.servers.002, test.servers.001 |
+| `test.servers.*` | 001 | `expand(test.servers.*)` | test.servers.001 |
+| `*.servers.*.cpu` | cpu | `expand(*.servers.*.cpu)` | prod.servers.001.cpu, prod.servers.002.cpu, test.servers.001.cpu |
+
+As you can see from the results, the non-expanded query is the same as an expanded query with a regex matching the last part of the name.
+
 You can also create nested variables that use other variables in their definition. For example
 `apps.$app.servers.*` uses the variable `$app` in its query definition.
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.test.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.test.ts
index dda57e9d442..ad6bfbacea2 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.test.ts
@@ -512,6 +512,16 @@ describe('graphiteDatasource', () => {
       expect(requestOptions.data).toEqual('query=app.*');
       expect(results).not.toBe(null);
     });
+
+    it('should request expanded metrics', () => {
+      ctx.ds.metricFindQuery('expand(*.servers.*)').then((data: any) => {
+        results = data;
+      });
+
+      expect(requestOptions.url).toBe('/api/datasources/proxy/1/metrics/expand');
+      expect(requestOptions.params.query).toBe('*.servers.*');
+      expect(results).not.toBe(null);
+    });
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts
index 095e42889e9..b45deb3c897 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/graphite/datasource.ts
@@ -365,6 +365,8 @@ export class GraphiteDatasource extends DataSourceApi<
 
   metricFindQuery(query: string, optionalOptions?: any): Promise<MetricFindValue[]> {
     const options: any = optionalOptions || {};
+
+    // First attempt to check for tag-related functions (using empty wildcard for interpolation)
     let interpolatedQuery = this.templateSrv.replace(
       query,
       getSearchFilterScopedVar({ query, wildcardChar: '', options: optionalOptions })
@@ -386,26 +388,60 @@ export class GraphiteDatasource extends DataSourceApi<
       return this.getTagsAutoComplete(expressions, undefined, options);
     }
 
+    // If no tag-related query was found, perform metric-based search (using * as the wildcard for interpolation)
+    let useExpand = query.match(/^expand\((.*)\)$/);
+    query = useExpand ? useExpand[1] : query;
+
     interpolatedQuery = this.templateSrv.replace(
       query,
       getSearchFilterScopedVar({ query, wildcardChar: '*', options: optionalOptions })
     );
 
+    let range;
+    if (options.range) {
+      range = {
+        from: this.translateTime(options.range.from, false, options.timezone),
+        until: this.translateTime(options.range.to, true, options.timezone),
+      };
+    }
+
+    if (useExpand) {
+      return this.requestMetricExpand(interpolatedQuery, options.requestId, range);
+    } else {
+      return this.requestMetricFind(interpolatedQuery, options.requestId, range);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Search for metrics matching giving pattern using /metrics/find endpoint. It will
+   * return all possible values at the last level of the query, for example:
+   *
+   * metrics: prod.servers.001.cpu, prod.servers.002.cpu
+   * query: *.servers.*
+   * result: 001, 002
+   *
+   * For more complex searches use requestMetricExpand
+   */
+  private requestMetricFind(
+    query: string,
+    requestId: string,
+    range?: { from: any; until: any }
+  ): Promise<MetricFindValue[]> {
     const httpOptions: any = {
       method: 'POST',
       url: '/metrics/find',
       params: {},
-      data: `query=${interpolatedQuery}`,
+      data: `query=${query}`,
       headers: {
         'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
       },
       // for cancellations
-      requestId: options.requestId,
+      requestId: requestId,
     };
 
-    if (options.range) {
-      httpOptions.params.from = this.translateTime(options.range.from, false, options.timezone);
-      httpOptions.params.until = this.translateTime(options.range.to, true, options.timezone);
+    if (range) {
+      httpOptions.params.from = range.from;
+      httpOptions.params.until = range.until;
     }
 
     return this.doGraphiteRequest(httpOptions)
@@ -422,6 +458,46 @@ export class GraphiteDatasource extends DataSourceApi<
       .toPromise();
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Search for metrics matching giving pattern using /metrics/expand endpoint.
+   * The result will contain all metrics (with full name) matching provided query.
+   * It's a more flexible version of /metrics/find endpoint (@see requestMetricFind)
+   */
+  private requestMetricExpand(
+    query: string,
+    requestId: string,
+    range?: { from: any; until: any }
+  ): Promise<MetricFindValue[]> {
+    const httpOptions: any = {
+      method: 'GET',
+      url: '/metrics/expand',
+      params: { query },
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
+      },
+      // for cancellations
+      requestId,
+    };
+
+    if (range) {
+      httpOptions.params.from = range.from;
+      httpOptions.params.until = range.until;
+    }
+
+    return this.doGraphiteRequest(httpOptions)
+      .pipe(
+        map((results: any) => {
+          return _map(results.data.results, (metric) => {
+            return {
+              text: metric,
+              expandable: false,
+            };
+          });
+        })
+      )
+      .toPromise();
+  }
+
   getTags(optionalOptions: any) {
     const options = optionalOptions || {};