Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Nov. 16, 2015
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc.
Trading Symbol	cnet
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		29,580,130
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001376321
Entity Current Reporting Status	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3