Abstract Remembering emotionally significant events is critical for the organisms’ behavior and survival. While the mechanisms underlying the formation of such memories are well understood and closely linked to the vagus nerve and the brain’s arousal system, less is known about its contribution to memory retrieval. The current study tested whether non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) applied during a long-term recognition memory task influenced retrieval of unpleasant and neutral scenes that had been incidentally encoded one week earlier. Results showed that taVNS, compared to a sham condition, selectively enhanced the recollection of unpleasant images. Despite a modest effect size (d = 0.33), these findings provide initial human support suggesting a role of the vagus nerve in emotional memory retrieval, thus extending current theoretical models of emotional memory retrieval and opening a new pathway for memory modulation and non-invasive therapeutic interventions. Similar content being viewed by others Introduction Remembering emotionally significant events is essential in various aspects of everyday life, as emotional memories guide decision-making, shape social interactions, and influence mental well-being1,2. While the mechanisms underlying the formation of such powerful and enduring memories are well understood, less is known about how these memories are retrieved. Understanding these processes, however, is important not only for basic research but also for clinical applications, for example, in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, in which dysregulation of noradrenergic function may lead to memory distortions or deficits3,4,5,6. In aging populations, a decline in noradrenergic integrity has been associated with reduced emotional memory selectivity, potentially affecting adaptive decision-making7,8. Identifying mechanisms that regulate memory retrieval could therefore provide novel strategies to mitigate cognitive deficits and enhance memory function. One promising target for modulating retrieval processes is the vagus nerve, a central mediator between peripheral physiological states and central arousal