Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Aug. 06, 2018
Document And Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	CYTRX CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000799698
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2018
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		33,637,501
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018