The game was lively from the start, with both sides probing into the opposition's final third.
The Celeste thought that they were in the lead after 14 minutes when Diego Godin poked the ball into the Costa Rica net from a free kick, but the referee judged the 28-year-old to be offside.
Just a minute later, the Paris Saint-Germain striker nearly came close again after a long free kick from Diego Forlan, but the ball was mishit and flew wide of the post.
Eventually, the 2010 World Cup semi-finalists broke the deadlock when Diego Lugano was dragged to the ground in the Costa Rica box midway through the first half.
Edinson Cavani fired the resulting penalty low to the goalkeeper's left to send the Uruguay fans into raptures.
Costa Rica, determined to get back into the game, had several good chances of their own, most notably through Arsenal's Joel Campbell, who fired just over from 30 yards, and Giancarlo Gonzalez, who couldn't quite stretch enough to head the ball in at the back post from Bryan Ruiz's corner.
However, the Celeste nearly doubled their lead right at the end of the half when Forlan sent a ball looping towards goal. Keylor Navas, however, was able to tip the ball acrobatically over the post.
The Central American outfight's fightback began in the 54th minute when Campbell struck past Fernando Muslera following a dangerous cross from Cristian Gamboa.
Just two minutes later, Costa Rica were ahead when Oscar Duarte's diving header flew into the Uruguay net, much to the jubilation of their fans in the stadium.
Things were to get even better for the Ticos, who had previously won just three matches at previous World Cups, as Marco Urena wrapped up the win in the final ten minutes of the game.
Campbell sliced the Uruguay defence open with a left-footed cross for the Kuban Krasnodar striker to roll home from a tight angle and kick-off more wild celebrations in the stands.
Frustration got the better of Maxi Pereira in the end, whose scything tackle on Campbell in the fourth minute of stoppage time earned him a straight red card.
The result puts Costa Rica top of Group D, with England and Italy to play later on this evening in Manaus.
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