Sylvan Ebanks-Blake spared Wolves's blushes against rock-bottom Charlton with a dramatic 79th-minute winner to secure three crucial points.
The striker, who had earlier missed a penalty after Mark Hudson's handball, headed the winner from close range.
Chris Iwelumo had put Wolves ahead when he poked in Michael Kightly's cross.
But midfielder Zheng Zhi looked to have earned Charlton a vital point with a superb strike from distance, until Ebanks-Blake popped up late in the day.
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy: "It's a relief to win and a big help that [third-placed] Reading are still in their bad run.
"Hopefully, it will continue until the end of the season. I'm certainly not getting carried away, though.
"There are still seven games to go and you'll have to wait until May to see if I have a smile on my face."
Charlton boss Phil Parkinson:
"We have lost to two scrappy goals in a game we deserved something out of. We feel hard done by.
"We have played well here and need to carry on playing with a lot of pride, although our chances of staying in the Championship are slim.
"That Chris Iwelumo left for a nominal fee, about £400,000, I believe, hurts because we have needed a striker like him who can score scruffy goals."
Wolverhampton: Hennessey, Foley, Craddock, Berra, Hill, Kightly, Edwards (Keogh 63), Jones, Stephen Ward (Henry 46), Ebanks-Blake (Vokes 87), Iwelumo.
Subs Not Used: Higgs, Reid.
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