The move could boost the chances of recognition for a Palestinian state at the wider UN and will give Palestinians the right to nominate ancient cultural sites for inclusion on the world heritage register.
But the vote in Paris has angered Israel and the United States and both countries consider the peace process is now more in danger than ever.
The motion, which specifically used the name 'Palestine', was passed by a substantial majority.
The vote was greeted with loud cheers of "Long Live Palestine", as nearly two thirds of UNESCO nations defied warnings from Israel and the US to vote in support of Palestinian membership.
Fourteen members voted against the bid - among them Australia, the US and Canada - and 107 voted in favour.
More than 40 countries abstained, including Britain and Japan.
The vote will give Palestinians the right to nominate archaeological sites for the World Heritage register - among them the Dead Sea, Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, where Jesus was supposedly born, ancient biblical sites near Hebron and Jerusalem, the ancient sea port in Gaza, and archaeological sites near Jericho and Nablus.
"The full membership will open doors for us", said Palestinian tourism minister Khouloud Daibes.
"Especially to face the deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage by the occupation, and start to preserve the Palestinian sites which are eligible to be on the world heritage list."
Palestinian leaders, including spokesman Ghassan Khattib, are now hoping the UNESCO vote will boost the bid for full membership at the UN itself.
"I think the success of the Palestinians to achieve membership in the UNESCO is important in terms of the Palestinian attempts to get recognition of Palestine as a state," he said.
"It's part of the build up in the Palestinian efforts towards achieving international recognition."
But the US has vowed to veto the bid for full UN membership and has announced it will stop financial contributions to UNESCO.
"We were to have made a $US60 million payment to UNESCO in November and we will not be making that payment," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.
The US funding makes up 22 per cent of UNESCO's budget.
Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, says the UNESCO vote will severely damage the prospects of Middle East peace negotiations resuming.
"We regret that the organisation of science has opted to adopt a resolution which is a resolution of science fiction," he said.
"Unfortunately, there is no Palestinian state and therefore one should not have been admitted today."
@'ABC'
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