The flying Jamaican took a massive 0.11 seconds off the previous record mark he ran to win the Olympic gold medal in Beijing one year ago.
That left defending champion Tyson Gay a distant second even though the American's time of 9.71 was the third-fastest ever. Asafa Powell of Jamaica was third in 9.84.
"I'm not a person who thinks about world records, I think about championships," Bolt said after sending the crowd into hysteria. "That's what I went out to do and I ran a world record."
The exploits of Jesse Owens in the same Olympic Stadium 73 years ago have been a hot topic of conversation in Berlin this week and Sunday's show could have a similar shelf-life.
The 100 meters record is usually nibbled at in one or two hundredths of a second slices but Bolt took a huge bite out of it and has now dropped it from 9.74 to 9.58 in a little over a year.
Bolt had given an indication of what was to come when he clocked 9.89 in his semi-final without seeming to hit top gear. That also came after he had false-started for the first time in his career.
By the time of the final, conditions were perfect, with a warm evening and a legal tailwind of 0.9.
Bolt unwound his long frame instantly from the blocks and was up and into his running alongside the fast-starting Gay to take control after 20 meters.
He roared through the line, watching the clock all the while, before setting off on a lap of honor, talking to the media and posing for photos with fans for almost an hour.
Gay had no complaints after a superb performance on the back of a persistent groin injury.
"He ran a great race. I ran my best race but it wasn't enough," he said.
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