"Kaiser Friedrich III" was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward and aft. She displaced as designed and up to at full load. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines that drove three screw propellers. Steam was provided by four Marine-type and eight cylindrical boilers, all of which burned coal. "Kaiser Friedrich III"s powerplant was rated at , which generated a top speed of . She had a cruising radius of at a speed of . The ship had a crew that ranged from 658 to 687 officers and enlisted men.