The game will be remembered for Darren Ambrose’s screamer from almost 40 yards that put Palace ahead after 65 minutes, but United levelled four minutes later thanks to a penalty from Federico Macheda.
Dougie Freedman’s side went ahead again eight minutes into the first period of extra-time when Glenn Murray headed in from close range after a free-kick, and the Londoners were good enough to hang on for the win.
Palace will now host Cardiff in the semi-finals, ensuring at least one Championship side will be at Wembley on February 26, while Manchester City welcome Liverpool to Etihad Stadium in the other semi.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a stronger team than expected with Dimitar Berbatov, Chris Smalling, Antonio Valencia and Park Ji-Sung ensuring a quality line-up.
Berbatov came close to putting United ahead in the first half when Valencia and Macheda exchanged a flurry of quick passes on the edge of the box, but the Bulgarian fired wide.
The first half was evenly fought, with both teams attacking on the break and sharing a similar amount of possession.
Despite dictating the tempo at the start of the second half, United went behind shortly after the hour mark when a wonder strike from Ambrose rocketed into the top of Ben Amos’ net.
But United were awarded a penalty soon after when Macheda went down in the box after having his shirt pulled by Patrick McCarthy. The Italian stepped up to take it and calmly sent Lewis Price the wrong way to level the proceedings.
With neither side able to grab a winner, the match headed for extra time with Palace stunning the home crowd eight minutes in.
Wilfred Zaha tricked his way past Park on the left flank and, after the South Korean brought down the Palace striker, the 19-year-old delivered a precise free-kick which Murray headed in from two yards out.
United almost replied immediately after the restart as Darron Gibson struck a volley inches wide of the post, but despite the best efforts of the home side, Palace held on to secure a memorable victory.
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