This paper presents a fast received signal strength indicator (RSSI) circuit for wireless communication application. The proposed circuit is developed using power detectors and an analog-to-digital converter to achieve a fast settling time. The power detector is consisted of a novel logarithmic variable gain amplifier (VGA), a peak detector, and a comparator in a closed loop. The VGA achieved a wide logarithmic gain range in a closed loop form for stable operation. For the peak detector, a fast settling time and small ripple are obtained using the orthogonal characteristics of quadrature signals. In $0.18-{mu}m$ CMOS process, the RSSI value settles down in $20{mu}s$ with power consumption of 20 mW, and the maximum ripple of the RSSI is 30 mV. The proposed RSSI circuit is fabricated with a personal handy-phone system transceiver. The active area is $0.8{ imes}0.2;mm^2$.