Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Mar. 13, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001053691
Trading Symbol	dffn
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		50,526,547
Entity Public Float			$ 25.3
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false