Neferefre was the first son of Neferirkare and Khentkaus II to come to the throne. He was probably preceded by Shepseskare, an ephemeral king who appears to have claimed the throne after Neferirkare.
The Turin King-list is too fragmentary to provide us with the length of Neferefre's reign. The highest recorded year reference is the year of the accession of this king, making it unlikely that he had a very long reign. From the few remains of the mummy that was found in his tomb, and assuming these remains belonged to Neferefre himself, it has been suggested that the king may have died at the age of about 22 or 23.
He built a solar-temple named Hetep-Re, which has not yet been identified, and, at Abusir, started with the building of his own pyramid complex. The complex was left unfinished, an indication of a short reign indeed.