It looked as though Pools were strolling to an emphatic win when they cruised in to a 4-0 lead, but when Keith Alexander's side roared back with three second-half goals, the visitors were relieved when Matty Robson grabbed a fifth goal with six minutes left.
Hartlepool started strongly and Joel Porter had an early shot saved by goalkeeper Mark Tyler before having an effort ruled out for offside.
Peterborough's best chance of taking a first-half lead came in the 28th minute when Trevor Benjamin's deflected shot was saved by Dimitrios Konstantopoulos.
The visitors took the lead two minutes later thanks to Gary Liddle's curling free-kick after Jude Stirling had been penalised for a foul on the edge of the penalty area.
Within two minutes it was 2-0 as Jon Daly slotted home his penalty after Mark Arber was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area.
Amazingly, on the stroke of half-time, Pools scored their third after a superb move. The swift counter-attack was finished with some style by Daly as Wilson's side threatened to run riot.
But Posh made sure there was no repeat of their recent 5-0 drubbing at Walsall with a battling second-half display.
However, they did concede a fourth goal after 53 minutes before getting their comeback underway. The impressive Liddle beat Tyler after Peterborough's inadequate defence was again at fault.
Just before the hour mark Richard Butcher pulled a goal back when he ran on to Peter Gain's pass before firing home.
It was almost immediately 4-2 when Gain's long-range shot was deflected past the unfortunate Konstantopoulos.
Benjamin had an effort ruled out for offside before the hosts scored again with 20 minutes left. Captain Dean Holden's spectacular 25-yard shot flew into the net and suddenly an unlikely draw appeared to be on the cards.
Holden fired wide and Danny Crow had a shot blocked as Posh piled on the pressure.
Hartlepool were hanging on but managed to defend stoically before finally sealing the points with six minutes left.
Poor marking once again by the home defence allowed Robson to fire a shot into the bottom corner of the net and Daly nearly made it six when he fired over the bar.