Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Mar. 02, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	ALPHA PRO TECH LTD
Entity Central Index Key	0000884269
Trading Symbol	apt
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		14,290,747
Entity Public Float			$ 40,942,692
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false