Police officers need to develop and maintain general physical readiness for health and performance of their duties. In the selection for hiring there is the Physical Fitness Test (TAF) and the Professional Training Course (CFP). In the CFP, the candidate learns the knowledge, practice the skills, and develops the attitudes to be a police officer. Objective: To characterize, in an exploratory way, the physical fitness (AF) of the largest CFP class from the Federal Highway Police (PRF), in association with their academic performance (DA). Methods: Candidates were assessed on AF components for health and on agility and muscle power. Performances were compared by gender and age groups, using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskall Wallis tests, at the 5% level. Spearman's correlation was performed to verify possible associations between AF and DA. Results: The sample consisted of 1433 candidates (198 – 13.8% – female), with a median age of 30 (19 – 48) years and a BMI of 24.73 (16.45 – 33.53) kg/m². Candidates had a high AF pattern and a lower physical performance among women (p<0.01), in all tests and age groups, ranging from -7.7 to -19.9%, except for flexibility. The negative effect of age on physical performance only occurred among men. Cardiorespiratory fitness, lower limb power and, mainly, resistance of abdominal strength and agility are associated with better DA. There is a positive, almost moderate, correlation, regardless of gender, between the overall TAF score and the Final CFP score. Conclusion: The AF of graduates in the CFP of PRF was superior to the general population and other police forces. The differences observed, in such an expressive sample, may support definitions of variation in the minimum requirement criteria between genders. In general, physical performance was not associated with DA evaluated exclusively in written exams. The overall DA of the candidates was associated with their AF.