Terry was cleared in court in July of allegations that he racially abused the QPR defender in a match at Loftus Road last season, though he still faces a Football Association charge over the matter (who have to justify their decision to strip Terry of the England captain's armband).
Ferdinand refused to shake hands with either the Chelsea skipper or Ashley Cole, who appeared as a character witness for his Blues and England team-mate, ahead of Saturday's west London derby at Loftus Road.
Rangers captain Park Ji-sung, a former Manchester United team-mate of Ferdinand's brother Rio, also opted not to shake his opposite number's hand during the pre-match formalities.
The incident overshadowed a goalless draw and, along with Manchester United fans' distasteful chanting about Liverpool in the wake of the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report being released this week, dominates the agenda after another difficult week for football.
There are fears the situation could be repeated next week when Liverpool and United meet at Anfield, with Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra having been embroiled in a race row of their own last season.
Suarez served an eight-match ban after the FA found him guilty of racially abusing Evra, and the Uruguayan controversially refused to shake Evra's hand when the sides met later in the season.