Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Aug. 07, 2012
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	BIODELIVERY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001103021
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2012
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	Amendment No. 1 to form 10-Q
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	bdsi
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		30,048,607