USS Palau was commissioned in January of 1946 as a part of the post-war demobilization. She trained in California and Boston, and was sent to Norfolk where she sat until May of 1947. When the ship was again mobilized, she was sent to Cuba for updated training and then back to Norfolk and onto New York.
After that, she headed for Recife and West Africa, returning to the East Coast in August. She was immobilized again at Norfolk from December of 1947 to March of 1948. After this, she trained off the East Coast and departed for the Mediterranean to help the Turkish Aid Program with the delivery of planes.
Palau remained in the Western Atlantic after that, traveling in all areas from the Maritime Provinces to the West Indies. This went on until 1952, when she returned to the Mediterranean to help the 6th fleet through late June. The ship was designated for decommissioning in 1953 but remained active for one last ferry cruise to Yokosuka with planes in tow.
She arrived at Philadelphia in 1954, decommissioning and being put into the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. In 1960, she was stricken from the Navy list and then sold for scrap.