A string of uncharacteristic second-half fumbles by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech allowed Bolton back into a game which appeared to be done and dusted.
Three late Bolton strikes meant Chelsea were clinging on in the dying minutes having seemingly put the game beyond reach thanks to two goals from Didier Drogba, one from Michael Ballack and a Frank Lampard penalty.
Bolton frustrated Chelsea for most of the first half, packing the box with bodies and denying the opposition attackers any space to shoot.
The Blues' breakthrough came five minutes before the break when Ballack's clever one-two with Salomon Kalou on the right flank let the German midfielder fire home.
Three minutes after the restart, Chelsea were two up. Kalou was fouled just outside the box by Jlloyd Samuel. Lampard's free-kick, a short daisy-cutter, fell perfectly for Drogba, who side-footed past the keeper.
On the hour Chelsea scored a third from the spot after Gretar Steinsson had handled Lampard's flicked cross inside the area. Lampard coolly sent his right-footed spot-kick into the corner of the net.
Two minutes later, a Florent Malouda corner was nodded down by right-back Branislav Ivanovic, the Blues' two-goal hero from midweek at Anfield, and Drogba poked in his second, and Chelsea's fourth.
Blues manager Guus Hiddink felt confident enough to rest Lampard for the remainder of the game and sent Deco on in his place.
Within four minutes Bolton sub Andrew O'Brien, on for Danny Shittu at the start of the second half, had scored a consolation following a Cech fumble.
In the 74th minute it was 4-2 after another sub, Chris Basham, had converted a Kevin Davies header which sailed over Cech's head.
The Blues' keeper was again guilty of failing to react quickly when a Jussi Jaaskelainen clearance was nodded on by Davies and Matt Taylor, Bolton's man of the match, nodded home.
It set up a nervy final 12 minutes which saw a Steinsson clearance off the line from Chelsea sub Nicolas Anelka, and Gary Cahill's coming a whisker away from levelling for Bolton with the final kick of the game.