Consolidated Balance Sheets (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 879,901	$ 1,471,362
Certificates of deposit	0	777,119
Trading securities	155,705	1,790,444
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $79,377 and $78,187, respectively	2,680,406	4,060,621
Short-term notes receivable	62,500	421,300
Current portion of notes receivable	320,359	38,892
Inventories, net	3,767,113	5,433,493
Real estate held for sale	7,915,512	5,600,321
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	312,858	253,534
Assets held for sale - current	0	237,997
Total current assets	16,094,354	20,085,083
Long-term notes receivable, less current portion	296,300	1,004,564
Real estate held for sale	0	225,000
Oil & gas properties - unproved	8,400	0
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization	3,729,718	3,673,289
Goodwill	674,539	674,539
Patents & trademarks, net of accumulated amortization	44,910	0
Marketable securities - available for sale	7,800	130,000
Other assets	10,505	97,003
Assets held for sale - noncurrent	0	1,383
Total assets	20,866,526	25,890,861
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	2,420,636	3,571,269
Bank overdrafts	107,988	0
Accrued lawsuit settlement	0	1,650,000
Short-term notes payable	234,799	91,183
Accounts and notes payable to related parties	5,757	20,552
Current installments of long-term debt	4,152,060	4,794,723
Liabilities associated with assets held for sale	0	228,554
Total current liabilities	6,921,240	10,356,281
Accrued pension expense	56,277	0
Long-term debt, less current installments	1,424,798	1,807,931
Total liabilities	8,402,315	12,164,212
Commitments and contingencies	0	0
Equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized, 1,000 and 0 shares issued and outstanding, respectively	1	0
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 50,000,000 authorized; 16,017,142 and 10,971,325 shares issued, respectively; 15,364,711 and 10,604,868 shares outstanding, respectively	16,017	10,972
Additional paid-in capital	36,938,146	34,271,654
Stock subscription receivable	(72,000)	0
Accumulated deficit	(23,066,214)	(19,806,883)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,397,200)	(1,275,000)
Less treasury stock, at cost; 652,431 and 366,457 shares, respectively	(628,694)	(554,428)
Total American International Industries, Inc. equity	11,790,056	12,646,315
Noncontrolling interest	674,155	1,080,334
Total equity	12,464,211	13,726,649
Total liabilities and equity	$ 20,866,526	$ 25,890,861