Five-second answer

Claim we investigated

The cheetah is the fastest land animal.

True. Measured cheetahs sprint at 58 to 64 mph, faster than any other land animal on record. A timed sprint in Kenya (about 64 mph) and GPS collars on wild cheetahs in Botswana (58 mph) both beat the next-fastest land animals, the pronghorn (about 55 mph) and the ostrich (about 43 mph).

Quote or cite this fact-check

FactHub rates the claim “The cheetah is the fastest land animal” True (high confidence): Measured cheetahs sprint at 58 to 64 mph, faster than any other land animal on record. Reviewed October 18, 2026. https://facthub.org/n/article/cheetah-fastest-land-animal/1

One-minute summary

What the evidence establishes

  • A captive cheetah hand-timed over a measured 201-meter course in Kenya in 1965 averaged about 64 mph (28.7 m/s), the fastest reliably timed cheetah speed.
  • GPS collars on five wild cheetahs in Botswana recorded a top speed of 58 mph (25.9 m/s), though most hunts were run at moderate speeds.
  • The next-fastest land animals are slower: the pronghorn reaches about 55 mph and the ostrich about 43 mph; greyhounds and racehorses top out near 35 to 40 mph.
  • The common 70 to 75 mph figures overstate what has been measured.
  • The cheetah wins the sprint only; over long distances the pronghorn can keep running at 35 mph for several kilometers.
Important context: The claim is about top sprinting speed over a short distance. Cheetahs hold that speed for only a few hundred meters, and the often-quoted 70 to 75 mph figures are higher than any careful measurement. Over long distances the pronghorn of North America outlasts the cheetah. The claim also concerns land animals only: birds diving through the air and fish in water are separate records.

The evidence

The conclusion rests on the combined record. Expand each item to see its role and limitations.

Independence note: This check uses 4 methods across 6 institutions and 4 countries or international groupings.
Evidence map
Method Institution / country Year(s) What it shows Key limitation Primary links
GPS and inertial-sensor tracking collars on wild animals Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Botswana Predator Conservation Trust Botswana, United Kingdom 2013 Wilson and colleagues built collars combining GPS and inertial sensors and used them to record 367 runs, mostly hunts, by five wild cheetahs in Botswana. The fastest run reached 25.9 meters per second, about 58 mph or 93 km/h. The paper treats the cheetah's status as the fastest land animal as established and set out to measure how wild cheetahs actually use that speed. Even this wild maximum exceeds the peak speed reported for the pronghorn, the runner-up among land mammals. Only five cheetahs were tracked, all in one region of Botswana, so the fastest wild cheetahs elsewhere may be quicker. Most recorded runs were well below top speed, because cheetahs rarely need to sprint flat out when hunting. The study measured cheetahs only, so the comparison with other animals rests on separate sources. Wilson et al., Nature (2013)
Hand-timed sprint over a measured course Brunel University (Craig Sharp), Guinness World Records Kenya, United Kingdom 1965, 1997 In 1965 the British athletics coach Craig Sharp, later of Brunel University, timed a female cheetah in Kenya over a measured 220-yard (201.2-meter) course as she chased a lure behind a vehicle. Guinness World Records reports an average of 64.3 mph (28.7 meters per second) over three runs, and a 1997 news report gives 64 mph, almost twice the speed of greyhounds and racehorses. A 2012 peer-reviewed study of cheetah galloping still cites about 29 meters per second over a 200-meter course as the fastest recorded cheetah speed, and Guinness lists the cheetah as the fastest land mammal over short distances. The timing was done by hand with a stopwatch to the nearest tenth of a second, on one captive female chasing a lure, and was not published in a journal until 1997. We could not read the original journal note, so the details come from Guinness World Records, a 1997 news report and a 2012 peer-reviewed paper that cite it. The cheetah started 18 meters behind the course, so the figure is a flying-start average, not a standing-start time. Times Higher Education (1997) Guinness World Records Hudson, Corr and Wilson, Journal of Experimental Biology (2012)
Force-plate and high-speed video measurement of galloping Royal Veterinary College, University of London United Kingdom 2012 Hudson, Corr and Wilson measured the forces and stride patterns of galloping cheetahs and racing greyhounds, two animals of similar size and shape. They note that the racing greyhound, among the fastest dogs, tops out around 17 meters per second (about 38 mph), well short of the cheetah's recorded 29 meters per second. The study's stated aim was to explain how the cheetah reaches its far higher top speed, through longer strides and a capacity for higher stride frequency. The cheetahs in this study ran on a track after a lure and did not approach their top speed; the fastest trial was 17.8 meters per second, slower than the fastest greyhound trial. The study's comparison of top speeds therefore relies on earlier published records rather than its own runs. Its authors also ran the 2013 wild-collar study, so the two are not fully independent teams. Hudson, Corr and Wilson, Journal of Experimental Biology (2012)
Species reference accounts from wildlife agencies and record keepers U.S. National Park Service, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Guinness World Records United States, United Kingdom 2026 The National Park Service says the pronghorn can run at up to 55 mph, making it the second-fastest land mammal in the world, behind the cheetah. The Smithsonian's National Zoo calls the cheetah the fastest land mammal, says no other land mammal surpasses its short sprints, and gives the ostrich, the fastest bird on land, a top speed of about 43 mph. Guinness World Records adds that the pronghorn is the faster animal over long distances, keeping up 35 mph for as far as 6.6 kilometers. These are reference summaries, not original measurements, and they do not cite the studies behind their figures. Their numbers are rounded and sometimes generous: the National Zoo's 60 to 70 mph for cheetahs is above the best timed run. Pronghorn and ostrich speeds come from field estimates, so they are less precise than the cheetah's timed records. The pages were read in October 2026 and may change. U.S. National Park Service, Theodore Roosevelt National Park Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Guinness World Records
1. GPS collars on wild cheetahs in Botswana recorded 58 mph

Wilson and colleagues built collars combining GPS and inertial sensors and used them to record 367 runs, mostly hunts, by five wild cheetahs in Botswana. The fastest run reached 25.9 meters per second, about 58 mph or 93 km/h. The paper treats the cheetah's status as the fastest land animal as established and set out to measure how wild cheetahs actually use that speed. Even this wild maximum exceeds the peak speed reported for the pronghorn, the runner-up among land mammals.

Limit: Only five cheetahs were tracked, all in one region of Botswana, so the fastest wild cheetahs elsewhere may be quicker. Most recorded runs were well below top speed, because cheetahs rarely need to sprint flat out when hunting. The study measured cheetahs only, so the comparison with other animals rests on separate sources.

Verify: Locomotion dynamics of hunting in wild cheetahs

2. A timed run in Kenya clocked a cheetah at about 64 mph

In 1965 the British athletics coach Craig Sharp, later of Brunel University, timed a female cheetah in Kenya over a measured 220-yard (201.2-meter) course as she chased a lure behind a vehicle. Guinness World Records reports an average of 64.3 mph (28.7 meters per second) over three runs, and a 1997 news report gives 64 mph, almost twice the speed of greyhounds and racehorses. A 2012 peer-reviewed study of cheetah galloping still cites about 29 meters per second over a 200-meter course as the fastest recorded cheetah speed, and Guinness lists the cheetah as the fastest land mammal over short distances.

Limit: The timing was done by hand with a stopwatch to the nearest tenth of a second, on one captive female chasing a lure, and was not published in a journal until 1997. We could not read the original journal note, so the details come from Guinness World Records, a 1997 news report and a 2012 peer-reviewed paper that cite it. The cheetah started 18 meters behind the course, so the figure is a flying-start average, not a standing-start time.

Verify: Coach gets the measure of cheetahs Fastest mammal on land – over short distances High speed galloping in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and the racing greyhound (Canis familiaris): spatio-temporal and kinetic characteristics

3. Laboratory gait studies show how much faster cheetahs are than greyhounds

Hudson, Corr and Wilson measured the forces and stride patterns of galloping cheetahs and racing greyhounds, two animals of similar size and shape. They note that the racing greyhound, among the fastest dogs, tops out around 17 meters per second (about 38 mph), well short of the cheetah's recorded 29 meters per second. The study's stated aim was to explain how the cheetah reaches its far higher top speed, through longer strides and a capacity for higher stride frequency.

Limit: The cheetahs in this study ran on a track after a lure and did not approach their top speed; the fastest trial was 17.8 meters per second, slower than the fastest greyhound trial. The study's comparison of top speeds therefore relies on earlier published records rather than its own runs. Its authors also ran the 2013 wild-collar study, so the two are not fully independent teams.

Verify: High speed galloping in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and the racing greyhound (Canis familiaris): spatio-temporal and kinetic characteristics

4. The next-fastest land animals, the pronghorn and ostrich, are slower

The National Park Service says the pronghorn can run at up to 55 mph, making it the second-fastest land mammal in the world, behind the cheetah. The Smithsonian's National Zoo calls the cheetah the fastest land mammal, says no other land mammal surpasses its short sprints, and gives the ostrich, the fastest bird on land, a top speed of about 43 mph. Guinness World Records adds that the pronghorn is the faster animal over long distances, keeping up 35 mph for as far as 6.6 kilometers.

Limit: These are reference summaries, not original measurements, and they do not cite the studies behind their figures. Their numbers are rounded and sometimes generous: the National Zoo's 60 to 70 mph for cheetahs is above the best timed run. Pronghorn and ostrich speeds come from field estimates, so they are less precise than the cheetah's timed records. The pages were read in October 2026 and may change.

Verify: Pronghorn Cheetah Ostrich Fastest mammal on land – over short distances

Common questions

“Cheetahs can run 70 to 75 mph.”

Those figures are widely repeated but higher than any careful measurement. The best timed run, over a measured course in 1965, averaged about 64 mph, and GPS collars on wild cheetahs recorded 58 mph. Sharp published his timing partly to correct the popular 70 mph figure. Some reference pages, including the National Zoo's, still give 60 to 70 mph. The cheetah is the fastest land animal either way; the exact number is lower than often claimed.

“The pronghorn is actually faster than the cheetah.”

Over a long run, yes: a pronghorn can keep up about 35 mph for several kilometers, while a cheetah's sprint lasts only a few hundred meters. Over a short sprint, the pronghorn's top speed of about 55 mph is below every measured cheetah maximum. The claim is about top speed, which is how 'fastest' is usually meant, but the pronghorn is the endurance champion.

“Wild cheetahs rarely run anywhere near those speeds, so the record is misleading.”

It is true that most wild hunts are run at moderate speeds, and that cheetahs on lure tracks in laboratory studies have run well below their maximum. But a top speed is a capability, not an average, and the wild cheetahs in Botswana did reach 58 mph when it mattered. That wild maximum is still faster than any other land animal's reported top speed.

“The peregrine falcon or the sailfish is faster than the cheetah.”

Those records are for diving through the air and swimming, not running on land. The claim is specifically about land animals. Among animals that run on the ground, the fastest bird, the ostrich, reaches about 43 mph, well below the cheetah.

Conclusion

Two independent kinds of measurement agree on the top of the land-speed ranking. In 1965 the athletics coach Craig Sharp hand-timed a captive female cheetah over a measured 201-meter course in Kenya and recorded an average of about 64 mph (28.7 to 29 meters per second); Guinness World Records accepts that figure, and a 2012 peer-reviewed study still cites it as the fastest recorded cheetah speed. Nearly fifty years later, a different team at the Royal Veterinary College fitted five wild cheetahs in Botswana with GPS and inertial-sensor collars and recorded a top speed of 25.9 meters per second (58 mph) across 367 runs. The two methods share no equipment, no animals and no researchers, and both land well above every rival. The National Park Service ranks the pronghorn second among land mammals at up to about 55 mph, the Smithsonian's National Zoo gives the ostrich, the fastest bird on land, about 43 mph, and greyhounds and racehorses top out near 35 to 40 mph. The ranking holds even against the lower wild measurement: 58 mph still exceeds the pronghorn's peak. The main qualifications are about how the claim is worded, not whether it is true. The cheetah is the fastest sprinter, not the fastest over distance, since a pronghorn can keep up 35 mph for several kilometers while a cheetah tires after a few hundred meters. The popular 70 mph figure is an overstatement that Sharp's own timing was meant to correct. Speeds for some rivals, such as the pronghorn, come from field estimates rather than timed courses, so the second-place figures are less precise than the cheetah's. None of these uncertainties is large enough to change the ranking, so we rate the claim True with high confidence.

How we checked

  1. Defined the claim as: no land animal has a higher measured top running speed than the cheetah. Endurance, acceleration, and speeds in air or water are out of scope.
  2. Looked for top-speed measurements made by different methods and teams: a hand-timed run over a measured course (Kenya, 1965) and GPS and inertial-sensor collars on wild cheetahs (Botswana, published 2013), plus a laboratory gait study (United Kingdom, 2012).
  3. Checked the top speeds reported for the closest rivals, the pronghorn and the ostrich, and for greyhounds and racehorses, using the U.S. National Park Service, the Smithsonian's National Zoo, Guinness World Records and the 2012 study.
  4. Compared popular speed figures (60 to 75 mph) with the measured values and noted where reference pages exceed them.
  5. Recorded the limits of each line of evidence, including small samples, hand timing, captive animals, and reliance on secondary reports of the 1965 measurement.

Editorial note: Scope: this check covers top running speed on land. It does not rank speeds in air or water, endurance running, or acceleration. Sharp's 1965 measurement has been widely reported but its original 1997 journal note is paywalled; we rely on Guinness World Records, a 1997 news report, and a 2012 peer-reviewed paper that cite it. Several reference pages give rounded or popular speed figures, and we point out where those exceed the measured values. No external specialist review has been recorded.

Expert-review status

No external specialist review has been recorded.

Funding and conflicts

Funding: No external funding for this piece.

Ownership: FactHub is an independent fact-checking site; it has no stake in any zoo, research group or record keeper cited here.

Conflicts: No conflicts of interest known.

Sources

Sources are labeled by kind, with what this fact check takes from each, so readers can check the evidence independently.

  1. Peer-reviewed study Wilson et al., Nature (2013). Locomotion dynamics of hunting in wild cheetahs Free copy DOI: 10.1038/nature12295 Identifier: PMID 23765495

    Peer-reviewed study that tracked 367 runs by five wild cheetahs in Botswana with custom GPS and inertial-sensor collars.

    Reliability: Published in Nature by researchers from the Royal Veterinary College and the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust. Measured wild animals directly with instruments the team designed; the sample is five cheetahs in one area.

    • The study starts from the established view that the cheetah is the fastest land animal.

      What the source says
      Although the cheetah is recognised as the fastest land animal
      Abstract

    • Wild cheetahs reached a top speed of 25.9 meters per second (58 mph), though most hunts were run at moderate speeds.

      What the source says
      A remarkable top speed of 25.9 m s…(58 m.p.h. or 93 km h…was recorded, but most cheetah hunts involved only moderate speeds.
      Abstract
  2. Peer-reviewed study Hudson, Corr and Wilson, Journal of Experimental Biology (2012). High speed galloping in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and the racing greyhound (Canis familiaris): spatio-temporal and kinetic characteristics Free copy DOI: 10.1242/jeb.066720 Identifier: PMID 22723482

    Peer-reviewed laboratory study comparing the gait mechanics of galloping cheetahs and racing greyhounds using force plates and high-speed video.

    Reliability: Royal Veterinary College study; the senior author also led the 2013 wild-collar study. Its own cheetah trials were run on a lure track and did not reach top speed, so its top-speed figures come from earlier records it cites.

    • The study cites about 29 meters per second over a 200-meter course as the fastest recorded cheetah speed.

      What the source says
      The fastest recorded speed of a cheetah is 29 m s…as an average over a 200 m course
      Introduction

    • The racing greyhound, of similar size and build, tops out at about 17 meters per second, far below the cheetah.

      What the source says
      has a top speed of just 17 m s
      Introduction

    • Qualifies: In the study's own track trials, cheetahs ran at most 17.8 meters per second, slower than the fastest greyhound trial, so these runs do not show top speed.

      What the source says
      The cheetahs galloped at speeds ranging from 8.7 to 17.8 m s…and the greyhounds at speeds from 9.9 to 19.0 m s
      Results
  3. News report Times Higher Education (1997). Coach gets the measure of cheetahs

    1997 news report on Craig Sharp's publication of his 1965 timed cheetah run in Kenya.

    Reliability: A contemporary news summary of Sharp's journal note, describing his method and result. It is a secondary account; the journal note itself is paywalled.

    • Sharp, a British athletics coach, timed a female cheetah in Kenya in 1965.

      What the source says
      In 1965, a British athletics coach, visiting Kenya, turned his stop watch on a female cheetah.
      Paragraph 1

    • The timed cheetah ran 64 mph, almost twice the speed of greyhounds and racehorses.

      What the source says
      The speed was 64 miles an hour, almost twice as fast as the 35-38 miles an hour of greyhounds and racehorses
      Paragraph 2
  4. Other Guinness World Records. Fastest mammal on land – over short distances

    Guinness World Records entry for the fastest land mammal over short distances, with the details of Sharp's timed runs and the pronghorn's long-distance record.

    Reliability: A commercial record-keeping publisher. It reports the measurement details of Sharp's runs but does not link the original study.

    • Guinness lists the cheetah as the fastest land mammal over short distances.

      What the source says
      At least over short distances, the fastest mammal on land is the cheetah
      Record description, paragraph 1

    • Sharp's runs averaged 64.3 mph (28.7 m/s) over a measured 201.2-meter course.

      What the source says
      recorded accurate speeds of 64.3 mph (28.7 m/s or 103.5 km/h) – an average over three runs – for a 35-kg (77-lb) adult female over a measured distance of 201.2 m (220 yards; 660 ft).
      Record description, paragraph 1

    • Qualifies: Over long distances the pronghorn is faster, holding 35 mph for as far as 6.6 km.

      What the source says
      These antelope-like ungulates have been observed to travel continuously at 56 km/h (35 mph) for as far as 6.6 km (4.1 mi).
      Record description, paragraph 2
  5. Government Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Cheetah

    The National Zoo's species account for the cheetah, covering its anatomy, speed and hunting.

    Reliability: The Smithsonian is a federally chartered trust whose zoo runs a cheetah breeding and research program. The page gives rounded speed figures without citing the measurements behind them.

    • The National Zoo describes the cheetah as the fastest land mammal.

      What the source says
      Cheetahs are aerodynamically built for speed and are the fastest land mammal.
      Physical description

    • No other land mammal outpaces the cheetah's short sprints.

      What the source says
      No other land mammal surpasses their short sprints.
      Physical description

    • Qualifies: The zoo's 60 to 70 mph top-speed range is higher than the best timed measurement, and it notes cheetahs hold top speed only about 300 yards.

      What the source says
      That top speed averages between 60 and 70 miles per hour (96 and 112 kilometer per hour) and can be maintained for only about 300 yards (274 meters).
      Physical description
  6. Government Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Ostrich

    The National Zoo's species account for the common ostrich.

    Reliability: Smithsonian species account; gives a rounded top speed without citing the measurement.

    • The ostrich, the fastest bird on land, sprints at up to about 43 mph, far below the cheetah.

      What the source says
      The fastest bird on land, ostriches can sprint up to 43 miles (70 kilometers) per hour.
      Physical description
  7. Government U.S. National Park Service, Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Pronghorn

    National Park Service species account for the pronghorn.

    Reliability: Federal park agency page. Other NPS pages give pronghorn top speeds from 55 to 60 mph, so the figure is approximate.

    • The pronghorn reaches up to about 55 mph, second among land mammals behind the cheetah.

      What the source says
      They can run at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour, making them the second-fastest land mammal in the world, behind the cheetah.
      Description

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