The Norway international was a free agent after leaving Fulham at the end of last season following the expiry of his contract.
Palace have subsequently swooped for the experienced 33-year-old and Hangeland is thrilled to have put pen to paper on a one-year contract.
"I'm delighted to be here. I look forward to helping out and doing the best I can for this club," he told the club's official website.
"I'm quite old school as a player, I just want to be part of a good group of players, working for a good manager, working really hard and driving something in the right direction.
"All the people I spoke to told me that's what's going on at Crystal Palace and I really wanted to be a part of that.
"It's a traditional club with a big following. I thought the atmosphere here was fantastic and obviously the fans had a lot to be happy about come the end of the season.
"If we can do something similar to that this season, that would be great. I'm really looking forward to playing in front of those fans as soon as possible."
Hangeland made over 270 appearances for Fulham after Roy Hodgson brought him to Craven Cottage from FC Copenhagen in January 2008 and played in the club's UEFA Europa League final against Atletico Madrid in 2010.
His six-and-a-half year stay came to an end when the London club were relegated from the Premier League last season.
Hangeland's exit was somewhat acrimonious after he reportedly learned of his release via e-mail and later hit out at Fulham boss Felix Magath, describing the German as "very difficult to work with".