Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Feb. 21, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	Aegion Corp
Document Type	10-K
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Public Float			$ 677,397,618
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		33,791,224
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000353020
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY