Nominally, Pallada was classified as 44-gun frigate (Fifth-rate); however, her actual weaponry in service consisted of 30 × 24-pounder guns on her upper deck and 22 × 24-pounder carronades on her quarterdeck and forecastle.

She underwent a complete overhaul from 1846 to 1848, and afterwards was assigned to the Mediterranean, calling on Madeira and Lisbon in 1849 and was frequently the flagship for Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia.

She spent over a month in South Africa for repairs and for collecting specimens of local flora and fauna, and crossed to the Sunda Strait in mid-May, where Putyatin sent a cable to St Petersburg requesting the dispatch of the newly built Diana due to repeated problems with Pallada.

After the arrival of Diana, the diplomatic crew transferred to the newer vessel while Pallada was sent to survey the coasts of Korea and the Russian Maritime Province.

In the spring of 1855, Admiral Vasily Zavoyko, who was also military governor of Petropavlovsk, surveyed Pallada and declared her unfit for active service.

As the ship was only at a depth of 20 meters, it was common for Russian, and later Japanese, divers to retrieve small items from the sunken vessel as souvenirs.