The result means Reading remain unbeaten at home in their last 10 league games while Coventry have now gone seven without a win.
The Royals totally dominated the first half and were three goals up at the break.
They took the lead in the 15th minute when Jobi McAnuff made a dash down the left wing and pulled the ball back into the middle for Jem Karacan.
The Turkish midfielder calmly took his time before shooting but saw his goalbound effort strike team-mate Grzegorz Rasiak and be diverted into the net low to Keiren Westwood's left.
It was the third goal Rasiak has scored against Coventry this season.
Rasiak had been denied moments earlier when he toe-poked the ball goalwards only to see Coventry skipper Stephen Wright clear it from the goalline.
Coventry were under siege at this stage and Jay Tabb raced forward onto a loose ball before curling his shot just wide of the upright.
The second goal that Reading had been threatening came after 22 minutes.
Coventry skipper Wright sent Ryan Bertrand tumbling in the penalty area and after referee Andy Woolmer pointed to the spot, Simon Church scored from the penalty spot.
Reading's third goal came five minutes before the interval. This time Rasiak sent Church away down the left wing and the Welshman's cross was hammered low into the net by the unmarked Jimmy Kebe.
The half-time break seemed to spark Coventry into life and six minutes into the second half they forced Adam Federici into a rare save.
The Aussie keeper comfortably held Aron Gunnarsson's effort but was then forced to scramble to his right to palm away another Freddie Sears effort for the visitors.
As tempers flared, Reading's Matt Mills was shown a yellow card after a foul on David Bell.
This sparked a mass melee which ended with Coventry's Clinton Morrison being shown yellow for his involvement in the aftermath.