How Fast Can a Cheetah Run? Cheetah runs at a speed of about 112 to 120 km/h (70 to 75 mph). They cannot retain this much speed for a long time. With this speed cats tend to cover a distance of 500 metres (1,600 feet), with an exceptional adeptness to accelerate from 0 to over 100 km/h (62 mph)in just three seconds.