The Spaniard claimed the win in his first World Superbikes race since making the switch from Moto GP, where he had been riding for the previous nine years.
He took the lead on the first lap and finished well ahead with a final lead of 14.983 seconds.
Things had not seemed so promising for Bautista before the start of the race, when two factory Kawasakis finished ahead of him in the qualifying stage.
However Bautista first swept past rival Leon Haslam and then took top spot from Jonathan Rea at Stoner Corner.
Haslam then took second place from Rea, and while the Northern Irishman battled back, the distraction had allowed Bautista to extend an unbeatable lead.
Just after the halfway lead, after a string over clashes between Haslam and Rea, Haslam crashed at turn four, giving Rea the chance to attack Bautista – or so he thought.
Yahama rider Alex Lowes emerged to challenge him for second spot, and forced him to drive on the defensive yet again.
Lowes ceded third place to Marco Melandri, on his GRT Yamaha, on the last lap, and Michael van der Mark came in to round off the top five.
Source: Eurosport