The Hawks assembled their upset 16.14 (110) to 8.12 (60) victory in the first half and then withstood a third-quarter charge from the Blues that saw a 47-point margin cut to just 26.
Meanwhile, the Blues squandered an opportunity to secure their sixth win for the season and draw level with the fourth-placed Western Bulldogs on points.
Luke Hodge was terrific with 29 touches and seven clearances while Lance Franklin booted 5.4 and Michael Osborne was effective in his first game since round six.
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson was pleased with the endeavour his players used to capture their third win for the season, and second in a row after last week's three-point win over Richmond.
"The first game against Melbourne was obviously a really pleasing performance, and it was pleasing to get the points last week after being six weeks on the trot without saluting," he said.
"Today and the Melbourne game were the two games where we've played the best footy.
"When we're aggressive, and attack the footy really well and tackle really well, that's when we're a hard side to beat, and that's what we had today, which was great."
The Blues were off the boil in the first quarter, with Eddie Betts failing to touch the ball and Setanta O'hAilpin ineffective with just one handball and one mark.
But they really unravelled in the second term with a terrible run of luck thwarting their ability to rotate players off the bench.
Firstly, Chris Johnson - who made several costly mistakes in the first term - came off with a wrist injury that ruled him out of the game. Defender Simon White followed after hurting his knee in a collision with Franklin.
Johnson was later taken to hospital for scans on a potentially fractured forearm while White has damaged his medial ligament and will miss a few weeks.
Chris Judd, who helped himself to 11 first-term possessions, came off worse for wear from a heavy bump and could manage only three touches in that costly second quarter.
The turnovers that plagued the Blues early spread beyond quarter time and really started to hurt in the second, with Jordan Russell a repeat offender.
The Hawks kicked 4.5 to the Blues' 1.3 with Osborne integral in getting the ball forward and Hodge inspirational with 16 touches for the half.
The run of Hawk goals, and the injury to White, forced positional changes for the Blues with Lachie Henderson moving down back and Bryce Gibbs pushing up the ground.
However, it was in the midfield where the game changed. The Blues lifted dramatically at the clearances with Kade Simpson, Marc Murphy and Judd helping them to a 13-6 advantage for the term.
Four unanswered Carlton goals cut the margin from 47 points to 23 before a spate of wasted opportunities halted the Blues' run.
When the Hawks opened the fourth quarter with three quick goals, the contest had ended.
Carlton coach Brett Ratten said the Hawks were simply harder, despite the impressive games of Henderson, Sam Jacobs and Aaron Joseph.
"I thought they really hunted us physically, just always into their opponents, whether it was their backs on our forwards or their forwards on our backs," he said.
"They really came prepared and really on the front foot."
Ryan Houlihan was a late withdrawal with a hamstring injury and is likely to return next week.
Carlton 2.2 3.5 7.10 8.12 (60)
Hawthorn 5.3 9.8 11.12 16.14 (110)
GOALS
Carlton: Henderson 3, Robinson 2, Joseph, Murphy, Jacobs
Hawthorn: Franklin 5, Roughead 3, Hooper 2, Osborne 2, Peterson, Young, Hodge, Lewis
BEST
Carlton: Jamison, Murphy, Judd, Scotland, Simpson, Henderson, Gibbs
Hawthorn: Hodge, Franklin, Osborne, Lewis, Hooper, Young, Roughead
INJURIES
Carlton: Houlihan out (hamstring), replaced in selected side by Anderson, Johnson (wrist), White (knee), Yarran (hip)
Hawthorn: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Wenn, McInerney, Mollison
Official crowd: 47,484 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.
