The hosts finally broke down a well-organized Robins side when an off-balance Georginio Rutter rolled the ball across the six-yard box to Dan James who slotted in a low left-footed shot.
City had offered little in attack but levelled in first-half stoppage-time when Kal Naismith powered his way through a crowded six-yard box to head in Taylor Gardner-Hickman’s corner.
Joel Piroe placed a precise finish from 20 yards beyond goalkeeper Max O’Leary into the bottom corner to restore the lead soon after the interval, while Rutter had a late effort disallowed for offside.
The 14th-placed Robins have enjoyed better fortunes on the road than at home this season, with three wins, but a second away defeat extended their miserable run at Elland Road.
They have not won in 10 visits stretching back to 1979 and have won just one of their past 17 meetings with Leeds who in turn extended their unbeaten home record this season to six matches.
Leeds edged a tight first half, with Ethan Ampadu drawing a good save from Robins goalkeeper Max O’Leary, who also came off his line to deny Pire before James fired in his first goal of the season.
They looked all set to lead at the break until Naismith levelled with the visitors’ first attempt on target, ending United’s run of three home clean sheets stretching back to 18 August.
O’Leary could have done better with Pirie’s shot which gave him a fifth goal in eight games, but he kept the hosts in the game midway through the second half with a fingertip save to turn Crisencio Summerville’s drive onto the post.
Sam Byram made a superb block to deny Andreas Weimann a late equalizer, but Daniel Farce’s men deserved their fifth win of the season and Jaidon Anthony almost added a third Leeds goal when he broke through but saw his shot well saved by O’Leary.
“The game should’ve been done and buried at half-time. The number of chances and quality of chances that we missed was unbelievable.
“We conceded a sucker-punch but well done to the lads for how they reacted. They were not annoyed, and we did really well in the second half to go back in front.
“Then, again, it was the same story with an unbelievable number of chances, and if you don’t bury the game, the last 15 minutes are always a bit wild.
“So I’m pretty happy with the performance and the three points. We could have made our lives much easier because the goal difference should have been much better.”
Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol:
“We made a few too many mistakes, turned the ball over too many times where we had opportunities to choose a different option.
“In the second half we created some crossing situations which were dangerous, but it just didn’t quite happen for us today. They’re a good side, but I’m still glad we approached the game in the way that we did.
“We’ve got to be positive against sides – there’s no point sitting back because teams like Leeds would just wear you down.
“I’m really disappointed to lose the game, but I don’t have complaints how much effort the players put in. Sometimes you’ve got to recognise that you come up against sides that have a little bit more quality in certain areas, and certainly at the top end they were a difficult team to deal with.”
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