Thingnes Boe, who won the sprint gold on Saturday, completed the course in 32 minutes 26.9 seconds to claim a record-extending 22nd individual world gold, 8.6 seconds ahead of Wright.
Eric Perrot of France, who like the American hit 19 of his 20 shots, took the bronze medal.
The Norwegian, who has said he will retire at the end of the season, had two misses in the shooting but managed to stay ahead of Wright, despite seeming to slow down considerably over the final 800 metres
It was Thingnes Boe's third pursuit gold in a row at the World Championships, while New Zealand-born Wright, who switched to competing for the USA in 2023, picked up his second silver medal in two days after another fine performance in the sprint.
Earlier in the afternoon, Franziska Preuss displayed nerves of steel to gold for Germany in the women's 10km pursuit at the International Biathlon Union World Championships, with Sweden's Elvira Oeberg taking silver and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet of France bronze.