Document And Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Aug. 03, 2015
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP
Trading Symbol	CATY
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		82,606,382
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000861842
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2