Late goals from Sebastian Eguren and Giuseppe Rossi saw Villarreal come back from 3-1 down to snatch a point in the Primera Liga and avoid a second successive home defeat.
Manuel Pellegrini's side were unbeaten in the league up until two weeks ago, but lost that record after a disappointing 3-0 defeat at home to Real Valladolid.
The 'Yellow Submarine' then returned to second place in the table following a deserved 2-1 win at Recreativo Huelva last weekend, but looked set to suffer another defeat at home in this match.
Early goals from Esteban Granero, Jaime Gavilan and Javier Casquero saw Getafe race into a three-goal lead after just 28 minutes.
And it looked all over at half-time as the Madrid-based side went in with that advantage still intact.
Robert Pires began the Villarreal fightback 10 minutes after the interval, but Getafe still led by two goals as the game drew to a close.
However, the home side dug deep and Eguren pulled another goal back eight minutes from time before Rossi bagged the equalizer shortly afterwards to compete an extraordinary comeback.
Getafe came into this game with their confidence high following two excellent results.
Victor Munoz's side bagged a creditable draw away to Barcelona two weeks ago and comprehensively beat champions Real Madrid 3-1 in a capital derby clash last weekend.
And they got off to a brilliant start in this match when Granero controlled the ball neatly in the area and dispatched a sweetly struck volley past the helpless Diego Lopez.
Eight minutes later, the visitors went two up when Gavilan crashed a powerful volley of his own in off the post.
It was a breathtaking start and got even better after 28 minutes, when Casquero beat Lopez with a well-placed angled drive which left the Villarreal keeper with no chance.
Villarreal had missed a couple of decent chances to pull a goal back before that, but things looked very difficult now for Pellegrini's side.
And the home side must have thought it was not their day after 49 minutes, when Getafe keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri saved Eguren's shot from point-blank range to maintain the visitors' three-goal advantage.
But the Argentinian's luck ran out six minutes later when he smashed a clearance into Pires' chest and the ball rebounded into the net.
It was the breakthrough the home side needed and they enjoyed the majority of the play after that.
Marcos Senna, Jozy Altidore and substitute Nihat Kahveci all missed good chances to pull another goal back as Pellegrini's side piled on the pressure.
But they had to wait until the 82nd minute when Eguren bundled the ball home from a free-kick to give the home fans hope.
And less than three minutes later, Rossi pounced on a loose ball in the area and slotted an angled drive past Abbondanzieri to bring Villarreal level.
It was hard on Getafe, but Villarreal had dominated much of the game and deserved their point in a classic game of two halves.
They almost won it through Rossi at the death, but Getafe held on for a draw they would have been delighted with at the start of the game but which would have seemed more like a defeat at the end.
