An Erling Haaland inspired City scored twice in each half as they rode out spells of home pressure while putting on a display of clinical finishing.
Haaland started it off, before Tijjani Reijnders made it two before half time. A further Haaland strike and a goal from substitute Rayan Cherki compounded Wolves' misery in what turned into a routine win for the visitors.
**Report**
David Moller Wolfe was unsurprisingly handed his debut at left wing back - while fellow new signings Jhon Arias and Fer Lopez were among the substitutes for Vitor Pereira's men.
The atmosphere before hand was all about the touching and emotional tributes to Diogo Jota - with all thoughts on the Wolves hero following his tragic death earlier this summer.
Attentions quickly turned to the season opener - as Wolves looking to cause an early upset against the former Premier League champions.
As is the way for most sides against City - Wolves had to be content with Pep Guardiola's side dominating the ball for large parts of the first half.
That is exactly how it played out - but it took until the 20th minute for a meaningful chance to arrive as Haaland headed over unmarked in the box.
Wolverhampton Wanderers' Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen (Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
For all their possession though, it was Wolves who were having decent openings.
Marshall Munetsi thought he had bagged his side the lead with a powerful header, only for the offside flag to go up.
Moments later the ball again found its way to Munetsi 12 yards out and he was denied by a one handed James Trafford save - with the flag being raised again.
Jorgen Strand Larsen and Joao Gomes had also gone close to getting on the end of crosses - and Wolves were carrying a threat.
A side of City's quality always carry a cutting edge though - and 16 minutes before the break they showed it as a simple through ball caught Wolfe out, allowing Rico Lewis to lay it on a plate for Haaland.
Marshall Munetsi of Wolverhampton Wanderers creates a headed chance under pressure from Ruben Dias (Photo by Brett Patzke - Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Wolves via Getty Images)
Within moments they were two behind. Emmanuel Agbadou's slack pass to Joao Gomes was picked off and City broke with Reijnders slotting home to finish off a simple move.
After their chances on the break the quick fire double had knocked the stuffing out of Pereira's men and it was difficult to see a way back into the game heading into the break.
But within seconds of the restart they almost halved the deficit - as Ki-Jana Hoever found space down the right for Larsen, who looked to have guided his effort into the corner only for it to go the wrong side of the post.
Wolves looked more inspired with Munetsi laying a ball across the face of goal - while Larsen had an effort tipped over the bar.
However, it always felt like City were only a moment away from wrapping it up and so it proved as Reijnders played a smart one two down the right before cutting it back for Haaland to bury.
With just under half an hour to go there was a sense of, 'how many?'
Pereira threw on Fer Lopez and Jhon Arias for full debuts - in a four pronged change designed to find any sort of way back into the game.
It didn't work. With minutes Cherki had come off the bench and was allowed the time to shift it to his right and fire home from the edge of the box.
As was the case with arguably three of the goals - it was too easy for City.
The visitors saw out the game at a canter while Pereira watched on from his technical area with plenty to ponder over.
**Teams**
Wolves: Sa, Doherty, Agbadou, Gomes, Hoever (R Gomes 72), J Gomes, Andre (Lopez 72), Wolfe (H Bueno 72), Bellegarde (Arias 72), Munetsi, Larsen (Hee-chan 82)
Subs not used: Johnston, S Bueno, Mosquera, Kalajdzic, Gonzalez
Manchester City: Trafford, Lewis (Nunes 66), Stones (Khusanov 83), Dias, Ait-Nouri, Silva (O'Reilly 66), N Gonzalez, Bobb, Reijinders, Doku (Marmoush 66), Haaland (Cherki 73)
Subs not used: Ortega, Ake, Gundogan, Akanji,