The present disclosure relates to a cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery with improved rate characteristics in which a spinel surface structure is formed by fluorine coating on a surface of layered lithium nickel-manganese-cobalt cathode active material and a method for manufacturing the same, and according to the present disclosure, there is provided a lithium secondary battery with improved rate characteristics that may be charged to a capacity close to a full charge in a short time when compared to a related art and thus is suitable for high capacity of a secondary battery.