Terry Gornell struck twice to help lift unbeaten Accrington into the League Two play-off zone at the Crown Ground.
Stanley stunned Lincoln with two goals inside three first-half minutes.
Sean McConville fired low into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box before Gornell volleyed home his first goal for the club.
Gornell then added another on the hour from a tight angle before Lincoln sub Scott Kerr was sent off after flying into a tackle on Chris Turner.
Reds keeper Ian Dunbavin had to make decent saves from Mustapha Carayol and Albert Jarrett, while Lincoln's Ben Hutchinson wasted a great chance late on when he headed wide from two yards out.
But Stanley, now up into fifth after stretching their unbeaten run to seven games, were otherwise always in charge. And their clinching third goal, when Jimmy Ryan charged into the Imps half and played in Gornell on the left, was no surprise.
Lincoln City manager Chris Sutton told BBC Lincolnshire:
"I'm hurting from the defeat and I suspect the players are as well. They have got to show a reaction.
"We were aware of how they would start. They play with a high intensity but we conceded two sloppy goals.
"Having said that, with the chances we had it's incredible that we didn't score. On another night we could have got something but we didn't because we weren't good enough at both ends."
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