A second-half equaliser from Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey robbed Birmingham of their first away win of the season as both sides remained perilously close to the relegation zone in the Premier League.
City had enjoyed an interval lead thanks to a 19th-minute strike from Sebastian Larsson but Fulham salvaged a point through Dempsey's 53rd-minute header.
Fulham are still one place above the relegation zone and they are now without a win in their last five league games.
The Cottagers should have taken the lead in the fourth minute but a goalbound shot by Aaron Hughes was cleared off the line by Keith Fahey.
Fulham were looking to end a run of four previous games without a win and began in much brighter fashion than their opponents.
Birmingham, boosted by last week's victory over leaders Chelsea, were slow to respond to Fulham's opening charge.
In the 11th minute, Dempsey tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but his shot flashed past the upright.
But Birmingham took the lead against the run of play with their first threatening attack of the game.
A superb burst by Alexander Hleb saw him surge into the penalty and cross for Larsson to control the ball and fire into the far corner.
Fulham made a change in the 23rd minute when John Pantsil replaced Carlos Salcido at right-back.
It was clearly a tactical change with Birmingham beginning to enjoy a lot of freedom on the left-flank and Blues' opening goal had stunned the home side and their supporters.
In the 31st minute the hosts carved out an opening when Zoltan Gera crossed for Diomansy Kamara to try a spectacular overhead kick.
But the Fulham striker did not connect with the ball sufficiently to threaten Ben Foster in the City goal.
It was the catalyst for a spell of pressure from the home side but they were too reliant on the midfield passing of Danny Murphy and their attacks often petered out.
Birmingham continued to press forward and in the 40th minute Fulham defender Chris Baird had to make a last-ditch header to prevent the lurking Larsson from getting another chance at the far post.
Larsson was proving to be a real handful for the home side who were struggling to make an impact on the game.
Fulham's attacking edge had clearly been blunted with the loss of injured trio Andrew Johnson, Bobby Zamora and Mousa Dembele and they failed to get back on level terms before the break.
Fulham started brightly in the second-half but they had little joy in front of goal with Kamara thwarted at the far post in the 50th minute.
But there was an urgency about Fulham's game and for once Birmingham's defence was having to work hard.
The renewed pressure paid off in the 53rd minute when Birmingham failed to clear a corner and Dempsey climbed highest at the far post to equalise with a simple header.
Three minutes later Gera's shot on the turn on the edge of the penalty area was easily saved by Foster.
Fulham were now in the ascendancy and the afternoon worsened for City when they lost Hleb through injury in the 61st minute to be replaced by Nikola Zigic.
City had the chance to reclaim the lead moments later but a far-post header from Roger Johnson was well wide of the target.
In the 69th minute, another header from Dempsey was clutched easily by Foster but Fulham's pressure was mounting.
Fulham escaped another defeat thanks to the woodwork in the 74th minute when a header from Johnson rattled the bar.
Fulham substitute Eddie Johnson then wasted a great chance to win the game for the home side when he burst clear of the City defence.
But the Fulham striker could only fired his angled drive into the side-netting.
Fulham boss Mark Hughes believes his side have too much quality to be drawn into a relegation dogfight after a Clint Dempsey equaliser earned them a home point in a 1-1 draw against Birmingham.
The Cottagers have now gone five league games without a win but Hughes insists there is no need to panic even though they are just one place above the bottom three.
"It was difficult because at 1-0 down they got lots of people behind the ball away from,'' Hughes said. "We had to keep on going, keep knocking at the door, keep showing belief, which I was really pleased with and we got back on level terms.
"Towards the end of the game the one side that looked like creating something was ourselves. I was pleased with the guys. We are missing a number of key players. We have missed these key players in the attacking third and that will affect your momentum and fluidity of your play.
"We have just got to keep going. The guys are working exceptionally hard to get points on the board. Birmingham are probably more pleased with the point than we are. We are very aware of where we are, you only have to look at the table.
"But we only five points away from seventh, so you can look at it both ways. What we have to do is keep that belief that I saw in abundance today. We have too much quality and just need to get a few players back.''
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is not concerned they have yet to win away from home since last season. The Blues chief maintains that staying in the top flight is much more important and is happy if they can take a point away from home every few weeks.
"I couldn't care less,'' McLeish said. "If we can keeping winning at home and take four points out of six every two games, I think we will be okay. "Some day we will win away from home but nobody has discussed that at all.
"It is not easy to win away from home. There are no guarantees you can do it. We might never win away in the next two years but as long as we are in the Barclays Premier League I will be delighted. I thought we played very well in the first-half. The goal was magnificent.
"It was nice to see Hleb looking a lot sharper. He linked-up nicely. We are still trying to get him to a level where he can last 90 minutes. He got a bit of cramp and had to come off and we hope it is nothing more than that. He will benefit from getting the minutes.
"We have got better as the season has progressed in terms of attacking. But we need to hold the ball up better. We can improve on that.''
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