He belonged to the House of Hohenzollern, and was the youngest son of Frederick William I of Prussia by his wife, Queen Sophia Dorothea.

He was the youngest child of King Frederick William I of Prussia and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Hanover.

In 1756, he became Major General and accompanied his brother the King on his campaigns in Saxony, Bohemia, and Silesia.

Ferdinand is also remembered for having the Schloss Bellevue in the Berliner Tiergarten built in 1786, today seat of the Presidents of Germany.

On 12 September 1763 Ferdinand was elected as Master of the Knights of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order of Saint John, a post he held until 1812.