diff --git a/includes/admin/meta-boxes/views/html-order-items.php b/includes/admin/meta-boxes/views/html-order-items.php
index 04434aeccd8..99f684288a8 100644
--- a/includes/admin/meta-boxes/views/html-order-items.php
+++ b/includes/admin/meta-boxes/views/html-order-items.php
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ if ( wc_tax_enabled() ) {
 							</thead>
 							<?php
 								$row = '
-									<td><select class="wc-product-search" name="item_id" data-allow_clear="true" data-display_stock="true" data-placeholder="' . esc_attr__( 'Search for a product&hellip;', 'woocommerce' ) . '"></select></td>
+									<td><select class="wc-product-search" name="item_id" data-allow_clear="true" data-display_stock="true" data-exclude_type="variable" data-placeholder="' . esc_attr__( 'Search for a product&hellip;', 'woocommerce' ) . '"></select></td>
 									<td><input type="number" step="1" min="0" max="9999" autocomplete="off" name="item_qty" placeholder="1" size="4" class="quantity" /></td>';
 							?>
 							<tbody data-row="<?php echo esc_attr( $row ); ?>">