Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 07, 2014	Jun. 28, 2013
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Document period end date	Dec. 31, 2013
Amendment flag	false
Document Period Focus	FY
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Current fiscal year end date	--12-13
Entity central index key	0001123494
Entity current reporting status	Yes
Entity filer category	Accelerated Filer
Entity registrant name	HARVARD BIOSCIENCE INC
Entity voluntary filers	No
Entity well known seasoned issuer	No
Entity common stock shares outstanding		31,639,467
Entity public float			$ 100,095,274
Non Affiliate Share Holding			28,116,650