Document and Entity Information - Jun. 30, 2015 - shares	Total
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	DBB
Entity Registrant Name	POWERSHARES DB BASE METALS FUND
Entity Central Index Key	0001383084
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	13,000,000