Celtic produced a performance full of heart and tactical discipline but lost out to an injury-time Jordi Alba goal.
The visitors led after the presence of Georgios Samaras helped force Javier Mascherano to divert a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick into his own net.
Barcelona were not at their best, but produced a moment of sheer class to allow Andres Iniesta to equalise.
Celtic stood firm in the face of relentless pressure until the dying seconds when Alba stole in to score.
It was incredibly cruel on Celtic, who were outstanding to a man.
They remain second in Champions League Group G but now trail Barcelona, who maintain their 100% record, by five points.
Spartak Moscow, who beat Benfica earlier in the day, are a point behind Neil Lennon’s side with the Portuguese side bottom with a single point.
It had looked ominous for the visitors as early as the second minute when Barcelona sliced through their defence for the first time, Iniesta providing the killer ball, only for Alexis Sanchez to dink the ball wide of Fraser Forster’s right-hand post.
That apart though, Celtic began the match comfortably, coping well with the constant passing and movement of the Catalan side.
Forster’s first major test came 17 minutes in, and he dealt with it brilliantly.
Lionel Messi floated the ball over the Celtic defence, Iniesta turned it across goal where Marc Bartra flashed a header on target, only for the giant Celtic keeper to push it away.
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