Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Apr. 26, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
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		28,214,847