Brown was previously FHM's features editor and moves up at a difficult time for the men's monthly sector, which is losing readers to new men's weeklies Nuts, Zoo and Cut.
FHM was pushed off the top spot as Britain's best selling monthly by women's glossy Glamour in the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
FHM lost 4.6% of its sales, dropping to 573,713 copies, but remained the best selling men's lifestyle magazine.
Despite the tough market conditions, Brown said there had never been a more exciting time for FHM because the weeklies had transformed a relatively calm men's market into a battleground.
"This is no time for hysterics; FHM will continue to do what it does best -- relevant editorial and brilliant promotions, plus maintaining our relationship with Britain's 18- to 34-year-old men," Brown said.
He was part of the team that worked on FHM's recent redesign. Brown joined the magazine's picture desk in 1998 before becoming a staff writer and then the editor of the Reporter section. He was promoted to features editor in October 2001.
Dave Pullan, the managing director of FHM Worldwide, said: "It is a credit to the whole FHM team that the best candidate came from within. Filling David's large shoes was always going to be difficult but, after interviews with a strong shortlist of internal and external candidates, Ross emerged as the clear choice."
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