Acquisitions Fair value of assets acquired and liabilities (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Jan. 19, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011 Amorcyte Acquisition [Member]	Oct. 17, 2011 Amorcyte Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 PCT Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 $7.00 Warrants [Member] PCT Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 $3.00 Warrants [Member] PCT Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 $5.00 Warrants [Member] PCT Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Proforma [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 14,329,889	$ 10,050,086									$ 10,322,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Number of Securities Called by Warrants or Rights					1,881,008		3,000,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights					1.466			7.00	3.00	5.00
Common Stock Warrants, Shares	55,287,611	37,389,825		21,843,507				1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000
Fair Value of Assets Acquired					4,400,000		10,200,000
Equity Issued In Business Combination Fair Value Disclosure					3,700,000		17,200,000
Business Acquisition, Name of Acquired Entity					Amo Acquisition Company I, Inc.
Cash			227,900			92,900
Prepaid Expenses						178,200
In Process R&D						9,400,000
Goodwill	11,117,770	11,117,770	7,013,500			4,104,500
Accounts Payable & Accrued Liabilities						1,177,100
Deferred Tax Liability	3,599,122	3,774,655				3,774,700
Amount Due Related Party			3,000,000			340,400
StockConvertedToCommonStockRight					5,843,483		10,600,000
StockConvertedToContingentCommonStockRight					4,092,768
Stock Converted To Contingent Common Stock Right, Value					673,600
Goodwill, Gross							7,000,000
Stock Converted To Common Stock Right Value					940,000		15,900,000
Shares of preferred stock and warrants for common stock issued.		3,000,000
Stock and Warrants Issued During Period, Value, Preferred Stock and Warrants		1,300,000
Business Acquisition, Contingent Consideration, at Fair Value		70,000
Accounts Receivable, Net			451,400
Other Assets, Current			166,200
Property, plant and equipment, net	11,153,143	11,616,053	11,755,000
Intangible assets, net	14,480,827	15,086,038	5,700,000
Other assets	947,307	3,326,938	581,900
Accounts Payable			1,370,900
Other long-term liabilities	214,871	0	540,500
Mortgages Payable			3,784,600
Cost of revenues	11,949,124	8,646,687									8,923,000
Gross profit	2,380,765	1,403,399									1,400,000
Research and development	10,451,070	7,720,748					1,150,000				7,964,000
Selling, general, and administrative	22,315,346	27,687,162									29,473,000
Operating loss	(30,385,651)	(34,004,511)									(36,037,000)
Other Operating Income (Expense), Net		(562,000)									(548,000)
Loss from operations before provision for income taxes and noncontrolling interests	(36,276,854)	(34,566,333)									(36,586,000)
Loss from discontinued operations - net	(30,267,990)	(22,016,524)									(22,017,000)
Net loss	(66,369,311)	(56,582,857)									(58,602,000)
Extraordinary Item, Gain (Loss), Net of Tax, Including Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest		(9,448,000)									(9,448,000)
Preferred Stock Dividends, Income Statement Impact	528,023	639,765									640,000
Net loss attributable to NeoStem, Inc. common stockholders	(55,310,326)	(47,774,234)									(49,794,000)
Weighted average common shares outstanding		88,599,000									93,793,000
NeoStem, Inc. common stockholders	$ (0.40)	$ (0.54)									$ (0.53)
Net Revenue Since Acquisition							9,700,000
Profit Loss Since Acquisition					$ 900,000		$ 3,700,000
Earnings Per Share Basic And Diluted Since Acquisition					$ 0.01		$ 0.04
noncontrolling ownership							20.00%