Ben Brereton's goal at Deepdale was his second this season and the fifth of his short career
Paul Huntington's long-range strike earned Preston a point as Nottingham Forest drew in the Championship for the first time in 30 matches.
An open game failed to produce a goal until just before the hour when Ben Brereton started and finished a slick move to slot the visitors ahead.
But Preston responded impressively and centre-back Huntington levelled with a fine low strike.
Both sides pushed for a winner but neither could create a telling chance.
Forest's last Championship game without a winner also came against Preston, a 1-1 draw in April last season.
The visitors had to withstand an impressive early barrage, with Jordan Hugill and Huntington both having good chances.
Forest grew in confidence and Kieran Dowell had a strike well saved by Chris Maxwell.
Their improvement was rewarded when Brereton dribbled the ball out of defence and, after great work by Liam Bridcutt and Dowell, coolly finished under Maxwell.
But Huntington struck to keep Preston within a point of the play-off spots prior to Aston Villa's evening kick-off against Sheffield United.
Preston North End manager Alex Neil:
"I thought we played better today than we have in some of our recent wins here, just our quality of ball at times was poor.
"We lacked a bit of incisiveness in the final third. We relied on a centre-back to come and score us a goal.
"For the opportunities we had and the pressure we put on we deserved to win the game."
Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton:
"It was almost like we got the goal and we stopped doing what we do well.
"That's the time we needed to do more and we let them get back into the game.
"But it's a tough place to come, they have some quality players and are well managed so we should be delighted with the point."
