The band which was in the news since Zayn Malik's sudden exit also broke the streaming records, earning the highest first-week streams for a single in the UK with 2.03 million plays, reporter BBC.
"Drag Me Down" is band's first single as a quartet since the departure of Malik.
One Direction's fourth number one on the official singles chart received a tough competition from Calvin Harris and Disciples' "How Deep Is Your Love" which made a big leap from number six to two.