Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	May 01, 2018
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2018
Trading Symbol	hgbl
Entity Registrant Name	Heritage Global Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000849145
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		28,480,148
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1