Livingston stretched their unbeaten run to five games thanks to a late strike from substitute Cherif Toure-Maman.
He was on the pitch for less than two minutes when he pounced on a loose ball after a Eugene Dadi shot had been blocked to fire the ball home from 16 yards.
It was just reward for a positive finish by the home side who have recovered after a poor start to the season.
Chances were few and far between in a first half that became bogged down in midfield.
Livingston looked the more threatening going forward and Francisco Quino brought an instinctive save from Marco Ruitenbeek with a 20-yard shot after 30 minutes.
The goalkeeper again came to his side's rescue seven minutes from the break when Burton O'Brien sent David Bingham clear but Ruitenbeek was well placed to turn his shot wide for a corner.
Dunfermline responded and Craig Brewster pounced on a cutback from Davie Nicholls two minutes from the break, but his ten-yard shot was just a fraction too high.
Brewster did not have much longer to wait to find the net. The second half was less than two minutes old when he picked up a pass from Gary Dempsey to steer a low left-foot shot into the corner of the net.
Livingston responded and Gary Bollan came close with a 30-yard shot which was just a foot too high.
Dempsey and Lee Bullen both missed clear-cut openings and, sandwiched between, came a remarkable save from Ruitenbeek who somehow managed to claw a header from Barry Wilson on to his crossbar.
Livingston threw on all three substitutes in the closing stages and swamped the Dunfermline goal.
Livingston equalised in 79 minutes to get a deserved share of the points with Toure- Maman producing a composed finish