The hosts were indebted to a fine Neil Alexander save in the first half as the keeper saved Stuart Green's free-kick.
But Ipswich then took control and were unfortunate when Palace keeper Julian Speroni escaped a red card despite a deliberate handball outside of the box.
It mattered little, though, as Walters powered home a header from Gary Roberts's cross to seal the points.
Palace manager Peter Taylor:
"I thought it was a pretty tight game to be honest. Until they scored they didn't look too dangerous. "The effort of the players was good and although it wasn't a great performance it wasn't the worst and maybe a draw would have been a fair result.
"As for the Speroni incident, of course he shouldn't be out there handling the ball but I was always confident it would be a yellow card not red because it wasn't a clear-cut goalscoring opportunity."
Ipswich: Alexander, Wright, De Vos, Bruce, Harding, Walters, Miller, Garvan, Roberts (Haynes 73), Lee (Legwinski 79), Counago (Clarke 87).
Subs Not Used: Supple, Casement.
Goals: Walters 72.
Crystal Palace: Speroni, Lawrence, Hudson, Cort, Craig, Soares, Fletcher (Freedman 73), Green (Kuqi 64), Kennedy, Morrison (Hughes 73), Scowcroft.
Subs Not Used: Flinders, Butterfield.
Booked: Speroni, Soares.
Att: 19,382
Ref: Andy D'Urso (Essex).
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?