Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	May. 06, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	LIFE
Entity Registrant Name	ATYR PHARMA INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001339970
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		23,687,204