James Ward-Prowse added another superb free-kick to his ever-growing showreel as Southampton ended a run of three straight league losses and denied Leeds what would have been an important third straight win.
The England midfielder made a 25-yard set-piece look routine early in the second half, curling the ball over the wall and past Illan Meslier to draw Saints level and earn them a point from an entertaining, end-to-end contest at Elland Road.
It was reward for a fine response from the visitors to falling behind to Jack Harrison's poked close-range finish just before the half-hour mark.
Leeds had started the game very brightly, with Diego Llorente heading wide from a corner and Dan James seeing a shot saved.
But Saints were a regular threat and but for a Meslier save and Stuart Dallas clearance off the line under pressure, Che Adams would have levelled before Ward-Prowse's moment of magic.
Results elsewhere mean that despite only drawing Leeds have extended the gap between themselves and the bottom three to eight points.
One big positive for the Whites was the return of captain Liam Cooper and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips from injury, the former starting the game and the latter a second-half substitute.
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