The resilient performance, however, will have given caretaker boss Peter Shirtliff more chance of keeping the job as a permanent position.
Macclesfield dominated the opening exchanges and in the second minute midfield man Paul Harsley fired wide from 25 yards.
Centre back Danny Swailes then ventured forward in the 26th minute but sent a free header wide of the far post from eight yards.
Mansfield should have taken the lead on 34 minutes when Alan Fettis could only palm a Simon Brown cross into the path of former Macclesfield striker Ritchie Barker who scuffed his effort wide from 10 yards.
The Cheshire side made them pay two minutes later when Martin Bullock picked out Alan Russell who bagged his second goal in as many games with a 10-yard drive into the far corner.
He might have made it two moments later but, after being sent clear by David Beresford, he hammered a low drive wide.
Mansfield struck after the break, racing clear from their own area, before Barker picked out Adam Birchall who hit the roof of the net from 15 yards.
Birchall might have had another minutes later but his 25-yard drive took a wicked deflection before spinning agonisingly past the upright.
Stags keeper Kevin Pressman showed his quality with a breathtaking save in the 66th minute scooping clear a firm downward header from Russell to earn Mansfield a vital point.
Both sides pressed for the winner but were cancelled out by some solid defending, Brown going closest for Mansfield when a bouncing shot from the edge of the box bounced off Fettis' chest before being grabbed back to safety by the burly number one.