Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Feb. 28, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000834365
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Public Float			$ 15,192,728
Trading Symbol	BLFS
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		14,120,998