Other income, net (Details) ¥ in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 CNY (¥)	Mar. 31, 2018 CNY (¥)	Mar. 31, 2017 CNY (¥)
Other income, net
Government grants		¥ 666	¥ 555	¥ 451
Amortization of restructuring reserve	$ (39)	(264)	(264)	(264)
Exchange differences		(1,950)	(1,679)	2,328
Others		1,252	2,104	1,485
Total	$ 32	221	4,160	6,086
Profit Share Payments
Other income, net
Fees		¥ 517	¥ 3,444	¥ 2,086

The amount of amortization of restructuring reserve applied against earnings during the period.

No definition available.

Name:	baba_AmortizationOfRestructuringReserve
Namespace Prefix:	baba_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents amounts received from central and local governments in connection with the Company's investments in local business districts and contributions to technology development, which are non-operating in nature with no further conditions to be met.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	baba_GovernmentGrantsNonoperating
Namespace Prefix:	baba_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Net amount of other miscellaneous income and expense amounts, resulting from ancillary business-related activities (that is, excluding major activities considered part of the normal operations of the business).

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	baba_MiscellaneousOtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense
Namespace Prefix:	baba_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount before tax of foreign currency transaction realized and unrealized gain (loss) recognized in the income statement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 830
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6450222&loc=d3e30840-110895

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 830
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109240200&loc=d3e30700-110894

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 830
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109240200&loc=d3e30690-110894

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ForeignCurrencyTransactionGainLossBeforeTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of income (expense) related to nonoperating activities, classified as other.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.9)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115205541&loc=SL114868664-224227

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of revenue, fees and commissions earned from transactions between (a) a parent company and its subsidiaries; (b) subsidiaries of a common parent; (c) an entity and trusts for the benefit of employees, for example, but not limited to, pension and profit-sharing trusts that are managed by or under the trusteeship of the entity's management; (d) an entity and its principal, owners, management, or members of their immediate families; and (e) affiliates.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 946
-SubTopic 220
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.6-07.1(c))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114873854&loc=SL114874292-224272

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.1(e))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115205541&loc=SL114868664-224227

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RevenueFromRelatedParties
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionAxis=baba_ProfitSharePaymentsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: