Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Apr. 19, 2019
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2019
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	CRR
Entity Registrant Name	CARBO CERAMICS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001009672
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	true
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		29,342,216