He formally handed power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was sworn in as head of state on Saturday.
The transfer was part of a Gulf Co-operation Council-brokered agreement.
Under the deal, Mr Hadi will serve a two-year term and oversee the drafting of a new constitution. Mr Saleh was also granted immunity from prosecution.
Aides to the former president have said that he plans to go into exile, although there have been problems finding any country that will accept him. The Associated Press quoted Yemeni officials on Monday, however, as saying that Ethiopia had agreed.
Mr Saleh becomes the fourth Arab leader to be removed from power after more than a year of mass protests in the region. He only returned to Yemen on Saturday after receiving medical treatment in the United States for injuries sustained in an assassination attempt last June.
After handing Mr Hadi the flag of Yemen at the ceremony, he said: "I hand over the banner of the revolution, of the republic, of freedom, of security and of stability... to safe hands."
He also called on the country to unite behind the new leader.
Opposition MPs boycotted the ceremony because of Mr Saleh's presence. Security forces controlled by him and his family, as well as armed loyalists, were blamed killing hundreds of people during the 11-month uprising that forced him to step aside in November.
Mr Hadi was sworn in as Yemen's new president on Sunday after an election in which he was the only candidate.
Tuesday's poll was marred by violence in the south of the country in which nine people were killed. A car bomb also exploded in Hadramawt province on Saturday, killing 26 people.
Correspondents say the violence underscores the challenges Yemen - the poorest country in the Arab world - still faces after the departure of Mr Saleh.
Mr Hadi has to tackle widespread poverty and malnutrition, a secessionist movement in the south, rebellions across the country and a fight against al-Qaeda militants.
At his swearing-in ceremony in parliament, he promised to work to bring home the thousands of internal refugees created by fighting between government troops, southern separatists, mutinous military units, and other factions.
"Today, we are laying the new basis for the peaceful transfer of power. This rule, which we hope will continue in this manner, is a demand of the Yemeni people," Mr Hadi said.
"One of the most prominent tasks is the continuation of war against al-Qaeda as a religious and national duty, and to bring back displaced people to their villages and towns," he added.
He is expected to serve a two-year term to pave the way for new parliamentary and presidential elections in 2014.

Sum: Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has stepped down after 33 years in power and months of protests which took the country to the brink of civil war.


A letter to county councillors said the shortfall in the "high needs" education budget could be made up by taking money from mainstream schools.
The council's letter said the authority "will do everything we can to keep the top slice as low as possible".
The council said no final decision had been made. One head teacher said redundancies were possible.
More on the funding shortfall, and other news
The high needs budget is for children with learning difficulties and serious physical disabilities in mainstream and special schools.
There are 96,900 children in Devon's schools, of whom 17.1% have high needs funding.
The letter to councillors said taking money from mainstream schools was "not a cut to our education spending but a reallocation of scarce resources to help our most vulnerable children".
But it added: "This will obviously have an impact on the overall budget of our mainstream schools."
The high needs budget takes up about £57m of the overall £507m education budget this year, according to county council figures.
The letter came as the local authority was attempting to make efficiency savings with government grants set to fall from £151.6m next year to £102.3m in 2018-19.
Jamie Stone, head teacher at Denbury Primary School and vice chair of the Devon Association of Primary Headteachers, said: "It is a concern because we will lose funding which is a very difficult situation.
"Maybe we will make redundancies to balance the budget."
The Department for Education said it was "committed to making Britain a country that works for everyone, regardless of background or ability".
It added that it was "increasing high needs funding next year, as we have this year" and total funding for children and young people with high needs would be more than £5.3bn.

Sum: Education for the most vulnerable children in Devon is facing a £4.5m shortfall, the BBC has learned.


Laura Higgins, of the Revenge Porn Helpline, said some police forces also did not take the crime seriously.
Figures show 56 reports have been made to police in Wales since specific legislation came into force in April.
All Welsh forces said they took allegations seriously and had dedicated staff to tackle the issue and support victims.
In April, it became a specific criminal offence in England and Wales to share explicit sexual images or videos of someone without their permission.
Since then, most alleged victims in Wales have been women, with just 13 men making reports to police.
56
Offences reported in total
South Wales Police 22
Gwent Police  20
North Wales Police 10
Dyfed-Powys Police 4
During that period, many of the images were shared on social media sites including Facebook and Snapchat or sent via text and Whatsapp messages.
Laura Higgins, of the UK-wide Revenge Porn Helpline, which has received 2,800 calls since it was set up in February, said despite increased awareness on the issue in recent years, there was still widespread misunderstanding of the issue.
"It's a really nasty form of abuse, it's like harassment. People's responses from the police depends on where you live. It's started to get a little bit better but it's still not great," she said.
"Police forces often don't take it seriously. There's a lot of victim-blaming that happens, unfortunately, and in particular men get a really tough break with this."
Ms Higgins said the key to tackling that stigma was to increase awareness, which would also help victims feel confident about coming forward.
But despite increasing media attention on the issue, Ms Higgins said revenge porn was not a "growing phenomenon", as many of those coming forward were victims of historic offences not covered by the new legislation.
Det Ch Insp David Hough, of South Wales Police, which received the most reports, said protecting people from sexual offences was a priority.
He added the force was raising awareness of the dangers of "sexting" and offences committed by those sharing and distributing indecent images.
Det Supt Ian Roberts, of Gwent Police, said: "Experiencing a breach of trust and having your privacy violated can be a particularly distressing ordeal, and I would like to reassure victims that we have the appropriate help and support available, and will take positive action against anyone who commits this type of crime."
A Dyfed-Powys Police spokeswoman said victims would be treated with sensitivity and would be offered advice, including how material posted on the internet can be removed.
North Wales Police's Det Supt Jo Williams said the force took the offences very seriously, adding: "This crime is entirely preventable and I would encourage the public to consider this."
South Wales Police also provided figures for offences reported for the five previous years, when the crime came under other legislation.
Between 2010 and 2014, five people were cautioned and eight people were charged under the Malicious Communications Act, while 27 people were cautioned and a further 27 were charged during the same period under the Communications Act 2013.
The other three forces did not provide data for previous years.

Sum:
Revenge porn victims are often wrongly blamed for bringing the offences on themselves, a charity has said.