Videos circulated on the internet in the aftermath of Sunday's game, with some claiming the footage shows Terry insulting Ferdinand using racist language. Terry has denied racially abusing Ferdinand, who he admitted had accused him of making a racist remark, but insisted his own response was actually a denial and not racist in any way.
Ferdinand met with QPR representatives and manager Neil Warnock at the Hoops' Harlington training ground on Tuesday to discuss the issue and decided to complain to the FA - a move which could have huge implications for Terry's future in the game.
An FA statement read: "The FA can confirm it has received a complaint relating to an alleged incident of racist abuse in the QPR versus Chelsea fixture at Loftus Road on 23 October 2011.
"The FA will now begin to make enquiries into this matter.
"The FA takes seriously any allegations of discrimination and abuse of this type."
Terry met with Ferdinand in the away dressing room at Loftus Road following the R's 1-0 win in an attempt to persuade the 26-year-old that he did not racially abuse him.
The England captain then released a statement saying he was "disappointed" that some people had come to the "wrong conclusions" about the supposed context in which he had made the comments towards Ferdinand, adding: "I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him. I responded aggressively, saying that I never used that term.
"I would never say such a thing, and I'm saddened that people would think so."
Source: PA
Source: PA