diff --git a/tests/generic/072 b/tests/generic/072
index 6e59d84c..ece71fb0 100755
--- a/tests/generic/072
+++ b/tests/generic/072
@@ -51,6 +51,10 @@ _require_xfs_io_command "fcollapse"
 
 testfile=$TEST_DIR/testfile.$seq
 NCPUS=`$here/src/feature -o`
+# cap NCPUS to 8 at maximum to avoid long run time on hosts with many cpus
+if [ $NCPUS -gt 8 ]; then
+	NCPUS=8
+fi
 OUTER_LOOPS=$((10 * $NCPUS * $LOAD_FACTOR))
 INNER_LOOPS=$((50 * $NCPUS * $LOAD_FACTOR))
 # fcollapse/truncate continuously and simultaneously a same file