Kilmarnock almost scored within the first 60 seconds when Gary Wales turned and volleyed narrowly wide, and that seemed to set the tone for the match.
Hibs came close to scoring in the 20th minute when Killie keeper Alan Combe produced a great save to turn Garry O'Connor's sizzling shot around the post.
Hibs' ship lost its rudder in the 24th minute when Guillaume Beuzelin was stretchered off and his team missed his promptings, going behind six minutes later.
There seemed to be little danger when Steven Naismith collected the ball on the left, but he was allowed to drift in to fire a vicious shot which swirled past Zbigniew Malkowski. The keeper got a touch but could not keep the ball out.
Despite the number of attacking players on show, there were few clear-cut chances until the stroke of half-time when Combe had to produce another brilliant save to tip Derek Riordan's great 25-yarder over the bar.
Hibs deservedly drew level on the hour after a goalmouth scramble when Chris Hogg fired in off the underside of the bar.
Hibernian's Gary O'Connor appearedto break Kilmarnock hearts five minutes from time when he ran through to score past Combe, but the home side's resilience showed once again and Wales reacted quickly to bundle the ball home in injury time to earn his side a point after Malkowski had saved an initial header.