Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Oct. 27, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	CTIC
Entity Registrant Name	CTI BIOPHARMA CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000891293
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		282,376,610