Rho² Cephei is a solitary star in the northern constellation of Cepheus. Its name is a Bayer designation that is Latinized from ρ² Cephei, or simply ρ Cephei, and abbreviated Rho² Cep or ρ² Cep. With an apparent visual magnitude of 5.50, it is faintly visible to the naked eye, forming an optical pair with Rho¹ Cephei. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 13.6 mas as seen from the Earth, it is located about 240 light years from the Sun.

Rho² Cephei is an A-type main sequence star with a stellar classification of A3 V, estimated to be 500 million years old. It has a high rate of rotation, showing a projected rotational velocity of 133 km/s. The star has an estimated 2.26 times the mass of the Sun and 2.43 times the Sun's radius. It is radiating 36 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 7,405 K.

This star has been called by the Arabic name Al Kalb al Rāʽi, the Shepherd's Dog, which is better known (with the spelling Cebalrai) as a name for β Ophiuchi.