Alan Connell struck the Bulls' winner with a fine shot from the edge of the area, but equally important to Hereford's cause were a couple of top-drawer saves by goalkeeper Wayne Brown.
The first half got off to an exciting opening with chances at either end in the opening three minutes.
With just seconds on the clock, Macclesfield were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Hereford penalty area after a foul by Bulls skipper Tamika Mkandawire.
Kevin McIntyre's swerving free-kick was heading just inside the far post before Brown threw himself to his right to claw the ball away for a corner.
At the other end, Hereford also forced a quick corner and Martyn Giles' header from Rob Purdie's flag-kick was blocked away to Connell on the edge of the area. But the former Torquay man's shot curled narrowly over the bar.
After this flurry of early activity, fans must have hoped that plenty of action was to be forthcoming but they were to be sadly disappointed.
The best goal chance came on 40 minutes when Richard Rose produced a fine tackle to block Alan Navarro's run as the midfielder bore down on goal.
Eight minutes into the second period, Brown produced his second excellent save of the afternoon, diving to turn away a free-kick from Matthew Tipton for a corner.
And Tipton went close again on 74 minutes when his shot was booted away from near the line by Dean Beckwith.
This came shortly after a good save by the Silkmen's Tommy Lee from Stuart Fleetwood, but Hereford's solid defensive work finally paid off ten minutes from the end.
Giles went racing into the Macclesfield half and the ball eventually found its way to Connell on the edge of the area.
The former Torquay man worked himself a half-yard of space before crashing a perfectly-placed shot past Lee and into the corner of the net to seal three vital points for the home side.