Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	May. 11, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000834365
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		12,693,017
Trading Symbol	BLFS
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016