Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	May 04, 2012
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	APRI
Entity Registrant Name	APRICUS BIOSCIENCES, INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0001017491
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		26,612,169