The move is a huge political gamble for Mr Abbas, whose Fatah party was swept from power by Hamas in elections early this year.
The statehood manifesto, written by jailed faction leaders, calls for a Palestinian state on all the land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. It implicitly recognises Israel.
Hamas has rejected the manifesto, which contradicts its policy of not recognising Israel, and says a referendum would be illegal so soon after the parliamentary election.
The referendum, expected in July, will be seen as a confidence vote in the Hamas government and its policy of refusing to recognise Israel, which has led the West to impose crippling sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.
Although Hamas convincingly beat Mr Abbas's Fatah in January elections, opinion polls suggest most Palestinians support the manifesto which the president is putting to a referendum.
Mr Abbas was to meet the executive committee of the umbrella
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on Tuesday to discuss setting a date for the vote.
His office announced on Monday that he would call the referendum after last-ditch talks with Hamas foundered.
Hamas took office in March and has been locked in a power struggle with Mr Abbas ever since.
"We're approaching very tragic days," said Palestinian political analyst Bassem Ezbidi.
Mr Abbas, a moderate, stunned Hamas late last month by giving the group an ultimatum to back the proposal, written by Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli jail, or face a referendum.
Although opinion polls favour Mr Abbas, if the referendum goes against him it would be seen as a vote against Fatah policies of negotiation with Israel. The government might then ask Mr Abbas to step down and urge him to call new presidential elections.
The statehood manifesto has been at the centre of 10 days of cross-party talks.
The document calls for a national unity administration and a Palestinian state on land conquered by Israel in 1967, not all of historic Palestine as championed by Hamas.
Ahead of last-minute talks between Palestinian factions late on Monday that failed to strike an accord, Mr Abbas insisted he would have no option but to call a referendum on the initiative without an agreement.
The most Hamas has proposed is a long term truce if Israel gives up the West Bank and East Jerusalem, far short of meeting the demands of Israel or Western countries.
Some analysts believe passage of the referendum would allow Mr Abbas to sack the government to remove the sanctions and to clear him to pursue his plan for negotiations with Israel.
More violence feared
With shootouts between Hamas and Fatah now frequent occurrences, many Palestinians fear further violence.
Clashes between Hamas and Fatah gunmen have killed nearly 20 people in the Gaza Strip in the past month.
"Hamas will work on two fronts, it will flex its muscles in Gaza and this could get bloody, or they will boycott the referendum. I think they will favour the boycott," Mr Ezbidi said.
Israel rejects the prisoners' proposal outright. It has long insisted on keeping large Jewish settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank.
Hamas seeks to destroy Israel and has rejected Mr Abbas's calls to hold talks with the Jewish state.
Opinion polls have shown that more than three quarters of Palestinian voters support the proposal by the prisoners, who are widely respected in Palestinian society.
Mr Abbas was elected by a landslide in early 2005 in a ballot Hamas did not contest.