Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Nov. 02, 2017
Document And Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	CPI AEROSTRUCTURES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000889348
Document Type	10-Q
Trading Symbol	CVU
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity a Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity a Voluntary Filer	No
Entity's Reporting Status Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		8,860,986
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017