The win took Liverpool to the top of the table until Monday at least, when Manchester City take on Tottenham at Wembley.
The Reds got off to a flying start when Mohamed Salah was first to react to a loose ball in the box, slamming home past Neil Etheridge.
Sadio Mane’s thunderous finish gave Jurgen Klopp’s side breathing space in the second half.
Cardiff did then pull one back through Callum Paterson to create a nervous atmosphere inside Anfield.
Substitute Xherdan Shaqiri then got his first goal for the club to restore Liverpool’s two goal advantage.
Mane then got his second of the afternoon to cap a fine week for the Senegalese forward on his return from injury.
Klopp’s side are now ten matches unbeaten in the Premier League and face a tough test away at Arsenal next weekend.
“Bringing on that quality makes the difference, you need 13 or 14 players to win a match,” the German said.
“We scored the second one and we conceded a goal which is never something you want especially with the record.
“It possibly helped actually as Cardiff believed they could do more and we finished the game.
“Now we can recover and prepare for the next game [Arsenal away].”
Both Salah and Mane have returned to form just at the right time for the Reds, just when people started to ask questions about the misfiring attack.
“He [Mane] has a broken thumb and plays with a brace. I wouldn’t feel comfortable but he plays s
Klopp made three changes to the starting line up as Alberto Moreno, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana came in for Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez and Xherdan Shaqiri.
The Reds will need to be at their best if they’re to get a result at the Emirates next Saturday, Unai Emery’s men have won their last matches in all competitions.
Before the triumph over Cardiff just two points separated league leaders Man City and Spurs in fifth position, something that surprised the Liverpool boss.
“It’s unbelievable that five or six clubs have such a number of points. It makes it more intense. It’s good for the people, the supporters of all the different clubs,” Klopp added.