Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2017	Mar. 08, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Registrant Name	R F INDUSTRIES LTD
Entity Central Index Key	0000740664
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Trading Symbol	RFIL
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		8,835,483