Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 28, 2016
Entity Registrant Name	CAMBREX CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000820081
Trading Symbol	cbm
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		31,978,467
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false