Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	May 07, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	DWSN
Entity Registrant Name	DAWSON GEOPHYSICAL CO
Entity Central Index Key	0000351231
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-30
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		8,053,407