Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Aug. 07, 2012
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Registrant Name	BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001103021
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	bdsi
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		30,048,607