Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 24, 2016	Oct. 12, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	COHU INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000021535
Trading Symbol	cohu
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		26,711,690
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 24, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false