Stuart Green fired Palace in front on 26 minutes, but substitute Leon Best levelled the scores with just three minutes left.
The former Palace manager was given an unfriendly reception from the home fans as he made his way to the dugout at the start of the match.
Dowie left Palace 15 months ago and was later sued by chairman Simon Jordan for 'fraudulent misrepresentation'.
The match was played at a high tempo with six bookings, five from Coventry.
Palace missed two easy chances in the first 15 minutes with James Scowcroft and Dougie Freedman the guilty players.
At the other end, Dele Adebola and Leon McKenzie could so easily have scored for Coventry before Green opened the scoring for Palace.
A long clearance was headed on by Scowcroft into the left channel for Freedman to cross perfectly for Green to finish off with a low shot from eight yards out.
The second half saw Coventry having more possession and Adebola again had useful chances to level for Coventry.
Palace's best player Carl Fletcher just failed to finish off a smart move following a cross from Tom Soares, before Coventry capitalised on a mix-up between Mark Hudson and Leon Cort.
It presented Best with a chance in front of goal and he took it well with a rising shot past Julian Speroni to rescue a point for Coventry.