Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2016	Jun. 03, 2016
Entity Registrant Name	SIGMA DESIGNS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000790715
Trading Symbol	sigm
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-28
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		36,998,268
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Apr. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false