Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 28, 2012	Mar. 15, 2012	Jul. 30, 2011
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 28, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	HOTT
Entity Registrant Name	HOT TOPIC INC /CA/
Entity Central Index Key	0001017712
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-28
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		42,083,928
Entity Public Float			$ 335,181,036