Gateshead took the lead on just five minutes when a cross by Man of the Match Wayne Phillips found Michael Mackay in the box unmarked.
Mackay turned on the ball and fired past Mark Tyler in the Luton net to mark his first goal while on loan from Hartlepool.
For 89 minutes Gateshead put up a brave fight, but in a minute of unfortunate happenings Luton found themselves in the lead.
On 21 minutes a free-kick by Rossi Jarvis was put into the box and found Asa Hall who headed in his first goal of the season.
40 seconds later and the Hatters were in the lead. An interception by former Middlesbrough forward Tom Craddock allowed him to pass to former-QPR prem star Kevin Gallen who used all his experience on the edge of the area.
A curled shot from 18-yards by the 33 year-old found Jim Provett stranded and left watching the killer goal go in.
Half Time: Luton 2, Gateshead 1.
In the second half Gateshead put the pressure on the Luton goal, but chances were at a premium.
The visitors saw a lot more of the ball, but often found themselves hit on the counter attack, which also saw a goal disallowed for Luton.
At the end of the game the Luton players were met by jeers rather than cheers after their performance, and Boss Mick Harford admited:
"We knew it will be difficult but Gateshead today were fantastic. They played some lovely attacking football and were hard to play against, especially second half."