Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Statements Of Operations and Comprehensive Loss [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 28,561,829	$ 23,832,727
Costs of sales	(18,617,364)	(15,062,519)
Gross profit	9,944,465	8,770,208
Selling expenses	(2,679,714)	(2,463,901)
Administrative expenses	(2,571,671)	(4,486,490)
Depreciation and amortization	(161,460)	(81,004)
Income from operations	4,531,619	1,738,813
Other income/expense
Interest income	295,556	95,834
Interest expense	(1,445,787)	(1,361,703)
Amortization of discount on notes	(2,778,796)	(2,467,511)
Registration rights agreement expense		(460,206)
Income (loss) before income taxes	602,591	(2,454,773)
Income tax expense	(831,597)	(681,321)
Net loss	(229,006)	(3,136,094)
Non-controlling interest in loss of subsidiaries	(18,759)
Net loss attributable to Tanke Biosciences Corporation	(210,247)	(3,136,094)
Other comprehensive income, net of tax:
Foreign currency translation adjustments	107,589	56,629
Comprehensive loss	(121,417)	(3,079,465)
Comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interest	(18,631)
Comprehensive loss attributable to Tanke Biosciences Corporation	$ (102,786)	$ (3,079,465)
Loss per common share:
Basic and diluted	$ (0.02)	$ (0.24)
Weighted average number of common shares used in computation
Basic and diluted	13,324,083	13,083,333