Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Nov. 01, 2018
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	CDTi ADVANCED MATERIALS, INC.
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000949428
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	true
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		4,070,533