The Bolton midfielder kept his side on course for a place in Europe with a close range effort thanks to the referee's assistant who signalled the ball had crossed the line.
Palace had loads of chances, but Bolton stood firm to ensure their winning sequence stayed on track.
The first half was not a particularly good one and the scrambled goal from Nolan was enough to separate the sides at half-time.
The goal arrived 11 minutes before the break when El Hadji Diouf, who gathered from Gary Speed, shielded the ball well and then turned with a shot that Gabor Kiraly did well to half stop on the line.
But Nolan was right there to return the ball and although Fitz Hall hooked the ball away, the referee's assistant saw just enough to rule the ball had crossed the line.
Within a minute referee Graham Poll angered the home crowd further after Michael Hughes went down under a challenge from Bruno N'Gotty but he decided there was no penalty.
Before Bolton open the scoring Palace had a couple of great chances themselves. Wayne Routledge had a gilt-edged chance after Dougie Freedman's pass found Andrew Johnson, who in turn swept the ball to Routledge who was in the inside right position.
The young England winger bore down on goal but delayed his shot and tried to round Jussi Jaaskelainen instead, but the Botlton custodian got down well to remove the ball off his toes.
A few minutes later Johnson was played onside from Hughes' pass and he ran clear of the defence, but the Palace striker struck the sidenetting from six yards out.
After the break Palace attacked for long periods but Bolton coped well with Nolan and Speed showing up well in the middle of the park.
But Palace had their moments but mainly relied on route one. Even so Johnson missed from close in from Freeman's byline cross, then Freedman himself wriggled past the Trotters defence before screwing his shot wide.
Kevin Davies could have put the game beyond Palace's reach when after being put clean through, but he shot straight at Kiraly.
Hughes was working tirelessly for Palace, often running the midfield on his own as Palace piled everyone up in the final stages.
Palace defender Darren Powell had already missed a good chance as his effort flew wide, but he missed an absolute sitter in the dying seconds when from just a few yards out he spooned the ball over the bar.
Man of the Match: Kevin Nolan – The Bolton midfielder was busy throughout the game and bundled in the all-important winner.