Oliver Bleddyn, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Kelland O'Brien surged round 16 laps of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome in 3mins 42.067sec, more than a second clear of the chasing British pack.
Defending Olympic champions Italy beat world champions Denmark in the bronze medal race of the most prestigious event of the track cycling programme.
Australia shattered Italy's world record in qualifying on Tuesday to signal their intent to better the bronze they won in Tokyo and win a first men's pursuit title since the Athens Olympics.
Powerhouse Britain own the most Olympic medals in men's team pursuit with 16, taking gold at Beijing, London and Rio.
But they had to rebuild after the retirement of Bradley Wiggins and Ed Clancy and slumped to seventh in Tokyo three years ago.
