Powell, who has held the job for four years, said in a statement that he informed President George W Bush that he would depart in March.
Powell, the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, who also is leaving the Bush administration, said he had completed a "bold and aggressive agenda" and looked forward to spending more time with his wife and two sons.
"Chairman Powell has been a valued member of the administration," White House spokeswoman Erin Healy said. "He has shown a strong commitment to expand the reach of new communications technologies and services and has helped advance the president's goal that all Americans should have access to affordable broadband by 2007."There was no immediate word on a successor.
Jonathan Cody, a friend and FCC adviser to Powell on media ownership, said Powell assessed his tenure at the FCC during the holidays and felt that he had accomplished his goals.
Powell, a champion of deregulation who critics had said was too pro-big business, rose from commissioner to chairman when Bush took office in 2001. His term was to run until 2007.
While tackling complex issues ranging from telephone competition to rules for media ownership, Powell is perhaps best known for overseeing a dramatic crackdown on broadcast indecency.
The FCC received more than 1 million indecency complaints in 2004, most of them involving singer Janet Jackson's Super Bowl halftime performance last February. CBS is contesting a proposed FCC fine of $550,000 (euro424,285) for the incident.
Fines for indecent programming exceeded $7.7 million (euro5.9 million) last year, a huge increase from the $48,000 (euro37,000) imposed the year before Powell became chairman. Powell has praised the record fines, saying the commission was "wielding our sword" to protect children and viewers who object to racy programming.
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