Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Oct. 31, 2015
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		11,351,542
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000709804
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3