The Sky Blues moved back to the verges of the play-off positions courtesy of a fine victory at the Britannia Stadium.
Michael Mifsud hit a brace either side of a Dele Adebola header to hand Iain Dowie's men their second victory in a row in the Coca Cola Championship.
Liam Lawrence replied for the home side from the penalty spot, but City were well worth the three points after a clinical second-half display which followed a first-half of few chances.
The visitors were forced into two changes from the side which went out of the Carling Cup against West Ham in midweek with Robbie Simpson and Dimi Konstantopoulos replacing injured Julian Gray and Andy Marshall respectively.
Ricardo Fuller blasted over and City captain Michael Doyle was forced to hack the ball off the line from a Richard Cresswell header as the hosts started brightly.
The Sky Blues' first effort of the game came in the ninth minute when Jay Tabb fired wide from the edge of the box while another long-range effort from the industrious midfielder ricocheted off three defenders before finding its way through to Stoke goalkeeper Steve Simonsen.
But chances in either danger area were few and far between and City were forced into a change when Simpson pulled up lame after dragging a shot wide of post and Dele Adebola stepped into the breach.
Stoke midfielder Danny Pugh, signed just 24-hours before the game from Preston, then sent a powerful low shot flying narrowly wide before the Potters went closest to opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time when Cresswell's front-post header from Lawrence's right-wing cross crashed back off the crossbar.
But it was the Sky Blues who smashed open the deadlock in the 58th minute when Adebola out-muscled Leon Cort and the ball fell to Mifsud who smashed home an opportunist strike into the bottom corner from 14-yards.
A superb save from Konstantopoulos foiled Stoke from grabbing an immediate equalizer - the City 'keeper diving to his left to claw a Ryan Shawcross header off the line.
And it proved all the more important just four minutes later as City doubled their lead from another quick breakaway.
Isaac Osbourne picked up the ball 30-yards from goal and crossed into the danger zone for Adebola, who climbed above Simonsen to head into the net.
A superb stop from Simonsen then stopped Doyle putting the result beyond doubt when he parried away the City skipper's fierce drive after a fluent build up involving Leon Best.
But Stoke were handed a lifeline in the 71st minute when Ben Turner was adjudged to have felled Fuller in the area and Lawrence slotted the resultant penalty into the bottom corner despite a desperate hand from Konstantopoulos.
A Pugh cross flashed across the face of goal and Konstantopoulos saved from Fuller as the Potters piled on the pressure.
But a flash of brilliance from City's Maltese magician put the game to bed in the 79th minute.
Doyle's clever through-ball slipped-in Mifsud, who despite carrying the ball away from goal, hit a rocket of a shot into the roof of the net to leave Simonsen stunned.
He could have even completed a hat-trick soon after when he exchanged passes with Tabb before rifling the ball against the outside of the post.
The visitors were running riot and Doyle almost capped a superb individual performance when his long-ranger was saved by Simonsen in stoppage-time.
STATS
Stoke City 1 Lawrence (71 pen)
Coventry City 3 Mifsud (58, 79), Adebola (63)
Stoke: Simonsen, Wright (Parkin, 66), Shawcross, Cort, Wilkinson, Lawrence, Eustace (c), Delap, Pugh (Dickinson, 90), Cresswell, Fuller. Subs (Not Used): Hoult (GK), Zakuani, Pericard.
Booked: Wright, Eustace, Lawrence, Wilkinson
Coventry: Konstantopoulos, McNamee, De Zeeuw, Turner, Hall, Osbourne, Doyle (c), Tabb, Simpson (Adebola, 37), Mifsud, Best (Kyle, 81). Subs (Not Used): Ward, S Hughes, Cairo.
Booked: Best, Turner
Attendance: 13,488 (747 Coventry)
