Chan hit two quadruple and six triple jumps, including an opening quad-triple toe loop combination, but went down on a foot sequence during his free skate to Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez.

But the 21-year-old was still ahead of his rivals finishing with 266.11 points to give him gold by 6.45 points.

He is the first man to defend the title since Swiss Stephane Lambiel in 2006.

Daisuke Takahashi, the 2010 champion, took silver ahead of Japanese compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu.

In the women's event later on Sunday, Carolina Kostner of Italy took her first world title with a high-quality free skate programme.

The performance moved Kostner, who won the bronze medal last year and is the reigning European champion, up from the third place she occupied after the short programme.

Russia's Alena Leonova led after the short programme but could not match Kostner in the free skate and was forced to settle for the silver medal.

Akiko Suzuki claimed the bronze medal while two-time champion Mao Asada was below top form as she slipped from fourth to sixth overall after the free skate.