Joey van den Berg netted his first league goal for Reading with their second against Barnsley
Reading picked up a first win in four games while Barnsley's struggles continued with a third defeat in a row.
Dave Edwards headed in Liam Kelly's near-post corner to score the opener for the hosts before Joey van den Berg drove in an impressive second.
Reading were made to sweat for the three points in the second half when Harvey Barnes hit a post for Barnsley.
But Jon Dadi Bodvarsson made sure with a third goal, heading in after Adrian Popa's shot came back off the crossbar.
Reading climb two places to 16th with the victory while Barnsley drop to 18th, six points above the bottom three.
Paul Heckingbottom's side threatened a comeback at 2-0 when Barnes struck the woodwork, and Brad Potts also tested Vito Mannone in the Reading goal with a shot from distance.
But Liam Moore hit the post for Reading as they searched for a third goal, before Bodvarsson nodded in his first home goal for the club after coming off the bench.
Reading manager Jaap Stam told BBC Radio Berkshire:
"We're happy with the result but with the performance at times, we didn't quite get into our stride.
"We always want to pick up to a certain level and I think we can do a bit better. It's difficult to keep the same standards, so sometimes you have to dig in to get a result.
"There were certain players who didn't play up to the standards today. But by working hard, we still gained the result and I think that's a positive."
Barnsley head coach Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"We take a lot from the game in terms of learning about players; it's a reminder to everyone of where we are.
"It's difficult to accept, but with young players in particular, I know I have to give them a little bit of leeway and understand that they're going to be inconsistent.
"However, that tonight wasn't good enough, and some of the solid performers who have been playing well, their performance has dipped as well."
