Captain America has no superhuman powers, though he is a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning. Captain America's strength, endurance, agility, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing are at the zenith of natural human potential.

He possesses metabolic functions which prevents the build-up of fatigue poisons in his muscles, giving him endurance far in excess of an ordinary human being. This accounts for many of his extraordinary feats, including bench pressing 1200 pounds and running a mile in 73 seconds (49 mph). Furthermore, his enhancements are the reason why he was able to survive being frozen in suspended animation for decades. He cannot become intoxicated by alcohol, drugs, or impurities in the air and is immune to terrestrial diseases. He is also highly resistant to hypnosis or gases that could limit his focus.

His battle experience and training make him an expert tactician and an excellent field commander, with his teammates frequently deferring to his orders in battle. Thor so highly regards Captain America's courage, leadership, and combat abilities that he has stated that Captain America is one of the very few humans he will take orders from and follow anywhere. His reflexes and senses are also extraordinarily keen. He has blended judo, western boxing, kickboxing, and gymnastics into his own unique fighting style and is a master of multiple martial arts. Years of practice with his indestructible shield make him able to aim and throw it with almost unerring accuracy. His skill with his shield is such that he can attack multiple targets in succession with a single throw or even cause a boomerang-like return from a throw to attack an enemy from behind. He is regarded by other skilled fighters as one of the best hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel Universe.

Although he lacks superhuman strength, Captain America is one of the few mortal beings who has been deemed worthy enough to wield Thor's hammer.

Captain America's uniform is made of a fire-retardant material, and he wears a lightweight, bulletproof "duralumin" scale armor beneath his uniform for added protection. Originally, his mask was a separate piece of material, but an early engagement had it dislodged, thus almost exposing his identity. To prevent a recurrence of the situation he modified the mask with connecting material to his uniform, an added benefit of which was extending his armor to cover his previously exposed neck.