Beaton missed chances to win the opening set and also wasted chances to win two other sets as Whitlock limped through to the third round.
Whitlock, who reached the final at Alexandra Palace two years ago, will now face Michael van Gerwen for a place in the last eight of the tournament, having followed up his 105 average in a first round win over Dennis Smith with another determined display.
"Steve did miss a few chances which could have changed the course of the match," said Whitlock. "My leg is still hurting, but my throwing arm is absolutely fine, which is the important thing!
"I'm playing Michael next and that will be tough. He's playing some excellent darts and has just beaten Mervyn King, which is no easy feat."
Beaton, who came back from the brink of defeat against Magnus Caris in his first round game, won the first leg with an 80 finish and took the second against the darts.
The third leg saw Beaton miss two darts at double top to win the set, and Whitlock managed to take the leg on double six.
Whitlock then hit an excellent 100 checkout, with his opponent waiting on 32, and the Australian landed double 12 to snatch the set, after Beaton missed a dart at the bullseye.
Whitlock, who averaged over 105 against Dennis Smith in the first round, hit a maximum in the process of taking the first leg of set two, and then broke throw in the next with a 15-dart finish.
Beaton stopped the rot by hitting double ten to win his first leg in nine, after Whitlock had missed a dart at double top for the set.
Beaton then won the fourth leg with a 64 finish, after Whitlock was off-target with two more darts to win the set, and the 1996 Lakeside Champion converted a 108 checkout in the deciding leg to win the set and pull back to 2-1.
Whitlock made a positive start to the fourth set, taking the first two legs with the aid of legs of 14 and 11 darts which both featured a maximum, before Beaton took the third after the Australian missed two chances to win the set.
Beaton hit an excellent 121 checkout to take the fourth leg, but was unable to set up a double when attempting to take out 79, and Whitlock hit tops to restore his two-set advantage.
Beaton started the fifth set well with a 12-dart finish to take the first leg before Whitlock levelled by taking out 81 for another 11-darter.
The third leg fell the way of Beaton before Whitlock hit double top with his first dart in the fourth to move a leg away from victory.
The fifth leg saw Beaton crucially miss a dart at tops to win the set and keep the match alive, allowing Whitlock in to hit the same bed and take the win.
"I'm loving every minute of this," said Whitlock. "It's great to be back playing again and I live for the game, so to be part of matches like that is brilliant because it was a real struggle, despite the scoreline.
"My leg's still a big problem and the ankle is swollen, but when I'm playing it doesn't affect me because the adrenaline takes over.
"I'm only practising for 10-15 minutes at a time, so to play for five sets and longer is a struggle, but when I'm up there I forget about my foot because I'm so focused on the darts.
"I'll have some physio tonight and see how I pull up ahead of Thursday because I've a tough game against Michael van Gerwen. He's playing the best darts I've seen from him for a few years and it should be a great match."
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