Steven Fletcher’s 49th-minute header cancelled out Sam Ricketts’ 22nd-minute opener as Mick McCarthy’s side overcame a lacklustre first half by emerging as the more dominant side after the break.
Wolves twice hit the woodwork as Stephen Ward hit the bar with a scorching 30-yard shot in the first half and Bolton substitute Tuncay headed against his own post with five minutes left.
Substitute Kevin Doyle also forced a block from keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen on the line with a header as Wolves pushed for the winner.
But the visitors, who climbed a place to 16th on goal difference after QPR’s 1-0 defeat at Arsenal, were also indebted to in-form keeper Wayne Hennessey, who produced two superb saves to deny Fabrice Muamba and Gretar Steinsson after the break.
Fletcher now faces a race against time to be fit for Monday’s clash at home to Chelsea when new signings Eggert Jonsson and Emmanuel Frimpong will be available after being seen with a large icepack on his foot after being substituted for Doyle in the 68th minute.
But there was also a welcome return for Kevin Foley, who replaced Stephen Hunt for the last eight minutes.
McCarthy made three changes from the side that did so well to draw 1-1 at Arsenal on Tuesday.
Richard Stearman, George Elokobi and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake returned to the starting line-up at the expense of the injured Ronald Zubar, Anthony Forde and Nenad Milijas, who started his three-match ban.
The changes meant Wolves started with two different full-backs, while Stephen Ward started in central midfield.
Bolton, who had former Molineux midfielder Mark Davies on the right side of midfield, made the better start.
David Ngog exploited the space in front of him from Bolton’s second corner to eye a shooting chance but his angled effort flew straight at Wayne Hennessey.
Wolves forced a save from a rare opening when Fletcher rifled a volley goalwards from 25 yards, but Jussi Jaaskelainen scrambled across his goal to parry away, although the shot appeared to be going wide.
Bolton returned to the attack and Ngog released Ivan Klasnic inside the area, but although Stearman made a hash of his clearance, the ball wouldn’t come down quickly enough for the striker.
Owen Coyle’s side were having plenty of joy down Wolves’ right-hand side and it was from that part of the pitch that they broke the deadlock.
Left back Sam Ricketts was the scorer, turning inside Stearman and curling a magnificent right-foot curling effort into the opposite corner of the net to leave his Wales team-mate Hennessey grasping at thin air on his return after 10 months out injured.
Martin Petrov attempted the same manoeuvre shortly afterwards, but sent his effort straight at Hennessey.
Petrov was more ambitious with his next attempt, a dipping volley from 25 yards that fortunately for Wolves, dropped a foot wide of Hennessey’s near post as the visitors struggled to make any headway in the game.
An excellent Bolton move saw a chance for Ngog inside the area but the former Liverpool striker fired wide after Mark Davies wriggled past Ward and teed him up.
Wolves lacked any spark or way of opening Bolton up, with Gary Cahill commanding on his last appearance for the club before his £7m move to Chelsea.
But the below-par visitors almost grabbed a spectacular equaliser in the 34th minute when Ward set himself up for a left-foot blockbuster from 30 yards that beat Jaaskelainen but smacked off the underside of the bar, Fletcher caught offside as he went for the rebound.
Bolton returned to the attack by catching Wolves on the break – again down their left – and after Ngog fed Petrov inside Stearman, the Bulgarian’s cross was swept into the ground and up by Klasnic but Hennessey caught it at the second attempt.
It was a poor first half from Wolves, and they were booed off by their 2,500 fans in the Reebok crowd of 20,354.
McCarthy introduced Dave Edwards for Elokobi at the break which saw Ward return to left back.
And Wolves found the ideal response to their first-half display with the equaliser four minutes after the restart.
Fletcher dived in to head home Matt Jarvis’ free kick at the far post after the club record £7m signing won the setpiece when he was shoved over by Ricketts.
Hennessey showed why he’s emerging as one of the best keepers in the Premier League with a superb one-handed save to keep out a deflected, bouncing drive from Fabrice Muamba.
And for the first time in the game, Wolves looked the better side and began to control possession, with Bolton and their fans showing signs of anxiety.
Their best move of the game saw Jarvis burst forward on the break before Edwards swung over a cross chested down by Ebanks-Blake for Doyle to fire a deflected shot wide.
But Hennessey again came to the rescue in the 74th minute, sprawling to his left to keep out Gretar Steinsson’s header.
If Wolves played poorly in the first half, they full part in the second half and ended the game on a high.
They went close to a second goal when Doyle’s point-blank header was blocked by Jaaskelainen on the line from Hunt’s cross after the striker beat Cahill to the ball.
Then Bolton had a let-off when substitute Tuncay’s header hit the base of the post from Jarvis’ driven corner.
Doyle then wriggled clean through from Ebanks-Blake’s pass and rounded Jaaskelainen but the angle was too tight to finish and he couldn’t find Edwards in support.
But in the end Wolves had to settle for a point, which they fully deserved.
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