diff --git a/datafusion/optimizer/src/simplify_expressions/expr_simplifier.rs b/datafusion/optimizer/src/simplify_expressions/expr_simplifier.rs
index 40be1f85391d6..56aa77595e5ff 100644
--- a/datafusion/optimizer/src/simplify_expressions/expr_simplifier.rs
+++ b/datafusion/optimizer/src/simplify_expressions/expr_simplifier.rs
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ use datafusion_common::{
 use datafusion_common::{internal_err, DFSchema, DataFusionError, Result, ScalarValue};
 use datafusion_expr::simplify::ExprSimplifyResult;
 use datafusion_expr::{
-    and, lit, or, BinaryExpr, Case, ColumnarValue, Expr, Like, Operator, Volatility,
+    and, lit, or, BinaryExpr, Case, ColumnarValue, Expr, Operator, Volatility,
     WindowFunctionDefinition,
 };
 use datafusion_expr::{expr::ScalarFunction, interval_arithmetic::NullableInterval};
@@ -1470,19 +1470,29 @@ impl<'a, S: SimplifyInfo> TreeNodeRewriter for Simplifier<'a, S> {
             }) => Transformed::yes(simplify_regex_expr(left, op, right)?),
 
             // Rules for Like
-            Expr::Like(Like {
-                expr,
-                pattern,
-                negated,
-                escape_char: _,
-                case_insensitive: _,
-            }) if !is_null(&expr)
-                && matches!(
-                    pattern.as_ref(),
-                    Expr::Literal(ScalarValue::Utf8(Some(pattern_str))) if pattern_str == "%"
-                ) =>
-            {
-                Transformed::yes(lit(!negated))
+            Expr::Like(ref like_expr) => {
+                if let Expr::Literal(ScalarValue::Utf8(Some(pattern_str))) =
+                    like_expr.pattern.as_ref()
+                {
+                    if !pattern_str.contains(['%', '_'].as_ref())
+                        && like_expr.escape_char.is_none()
+                    {
+                        // If the pattern does not contain any wildcards, we can simplify the like expression to an equality expression
+
+                        // TODO: handle escape characters
+                        // These currently aren't anywhere else in DataFusion
+
+                        Transformed::yes(Expr::BinaryExpr(BinaryExpr {
+                            left: like_expr.expr.clone(),
+                            op: if like_expr.negated { NotEq } else { Eq },
+                            right: like_expr.pattern.clone(),
+                        }))
+                    } else {
+                        Transformed::no(expr)
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    Transformed::no(expr)
+                }
             }
 
             // a is not null/unknown --> true (if a is not nullable)
@@ -3632,6 +3642,26 @@ mod tests {
 
         let expr = not_ilike(null, "%");
         assert_eq!(simplify(expr), lit_bool_null());
+
+        // test cases that get converted to equality
+        let expr = like(col("c1"), "a");
+        assert_eq!(simplify(expr), col("c1").eq(lit("a")));
+        let expr = not_like(col("c1"), "a");
+        assert_eq!(simplify(expr), col("c1").not_eq(lit("a")));
+        let expr = like(col("c1"), "a_");
+        assert_eq!(simplify(expr), col("c1").like(lit("a_")));
+        let expr = not_like(col("c1"), "a_");
+        assert_eq!(simplify(expr), col("c1").not_like(lit("a_")));
+
+        // null pattern
+        let expr = Expr::Like(Like {
+            negated: false,
+            expr: Box::new(col("c1")),
+            pattern: Box::new(Expr::Literal(ScalarValue::Utf8(None))),
+            escape_char: None,
+            case_insensitive: false,
+        });
+        assert_eq!(simplify(expr.clone()), expr);
     }
 
     #[test]