Entire functions that share a small function with its derivative

In this paper, by studying the properties of meromorphic functions which have few zeros and poles, we find all the entire functions f(z) which share a small and finite order meromorphic function a(z) with its derivative, and f(n)(z)−a(z)=0 whenever f(z)−a(z)=0 (n⩾2). This result is a generalization of several previous results.