Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	May 02, 2014
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	Steel Excel Inc.
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		11,966,904
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000709804
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1