<p>This paper investigates the active vibration control of rotating conical shells over operational speed range via piezoelectric patches. The rotational motion of shells induces Coriolis forces and initial circumferential stresses, which significantly alter their vibration characteristics compared to stationary counterparts. This phenomenon exhibits pronounced speed dependence, complicating vibration control efforts. In light of the gaps identified in the existing literature, this paper makes the following key contributions: (1) An electromechanical model of rotating conical shells with piezoelectric patches is developed, considering the influence of circumferentially moving loads; (2) modal truncation and convergence analysis are carried out according to the excitation force spectrum; then, an LQR controller is designed to effectively suppress multi-mode vibrations of the rotating conical shell; (3) the mini–max QPSO algorithm utilized in the operating-range-wide vibration control of thin-walled cylinders is extended for the first time to the active vibration control of rotating conical shells over the operational speed range. The work presents a feasible solution for the active vibration control of rotating conical shells, which may provide valuable insights for structural vibration suppression in relevant rotating machinery.</p>