Document and Entity Information Document - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Oct. 15, 2015
Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	Tennant Company
Entity Central Index Key	0000097134
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2015
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		17,837,213
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false