Bristol City moved up to second place in Division Two following this win from a rip-roaring local derby at Whaddon Road.
City came from behind twice to grab all three points but lowly Cheltenham, without a league win this season, played their part and can feel disappointed not to have taken at least a draw from the game.
An electric start to the match brought two goals in the first three minutes with Cheltenham in front only 50 seconds in.
Neil Howarth's run into the box was halted by a tackle but the ball ran free to Tony Naylor. His cross was headed in by Julian Alsop at the near post but the lead lasted only a matter of moments.
City captain Tommy Doherty sent a ball through the defence for Scott Murray, charging in from wide on the right. He sprinted clear before drilling a low shot past goalkeeper Steve Book.
Chris Woodman, Aaron Brown and Lee Matthews all missed good chances for City before Cheltenham edged themselves in front once again.
Midfielder Hugh McAuley swung over a cross from wide on the right and Alsop got free to send a powerful header past Steve Phillips from ten yards.
Alsop very nearly completed a hat-trick when his header came back off the post, but that chance came back to haunt the home side.
Three minutes before the break Danny Coles headed in a Brown corner then, eight minutes into the second half, Matthews crashed a 25-yard free-kick past a distinctly suspect defensive wall to make it 3-2.
"They could have gone 3-1 up but we created chances throughout the game and looked particularly dangerous on the counter-attack," said City boss Danny Wilson.
"It was a good game, both sides went for it and we were happy to come out on top."
Cheltenham manager Graham Allner said: "They upped it in the second half and we were unable to match them. We are still learning how to play in this league but we have to be mentally stronger."