Label	Element	Value
Dreyfus Short-Term Income Fund
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Supplement [Text Block]	ck0000889169_SupplementTextBlock	May 5, 2014 DREYFUS INVESTMENT GRADE FUNDS - Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund Supplement to Summary and Statutory Prospectuses dated December 1, 2013 *The following changes will take effect as of June 16, 2014* Dreyfus Intermediate Term Income Fund and Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Dreyfus Short-Term Income Fund
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	The following supersedes and replaces the second sentence of the first paragraph in "Principal Investment Strategy" in the summary prospectuses and "Fund Summary – Principal Investment Strategy" in the statutory prospectuses and the third sentence of the first paragraph in "Fund Details – Goal and Approach" in the statutory prospectuses: These securities include: U.S. government bonds and notes, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, convertible securities, preferred stocks, inflation-indexed securities, asset-backed securities, mortgage-related securities (including CMOs), floating rate loans (limited to up to 20% of the fund's net assets) and other floating rate securities and foreign bonds.
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	The following supplements the information in "Principal Risks" in the summary prospectuses and "Fund Summary – Principal Risks" in the statutory prospectuses: • Floating rate loan risk. Unlike publicly traded common stock which trades on national exchanges, there is no central place or exchange for loans to trade. The lack of an active trading market for certain floating rate loans may impair the ability of the fund to realize full value in the event of the need to sell a floating rate loan and may make it difficult to value such loans. There may be less readily available, reliable information about certain floating rate loans than is the case for many other types of securities, and the fund's portfolio managers may be required to rely primarily on their own evaluation of a borrower's credit quality rather than on any available independent sources. The value of collateral, if any, securing a floating rate loan can decline, and may be insufficient to meet the issuer's obligations in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal or may be difficult to readily liquidate. The floating rate loans in which the fund invests typically will be below investment grade quality and, like other below investment grade securities, are inherently speculative. As a result, the risks associated with such floating rate loans are similar to the risks of below investment grade securities, although senior loans are typically senior and secured in contrast to other below investment grade securities, which are often subordinated and unsecured.

Label

Element

Value

Dreyfus Short-Term Income Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Supplement [Text Block]

ck0000889169_SupplementTextBlock

May 5, 2014

DREYFUS INVESTMENT GRADE FUNDS
- Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund

Supplement to Summary and Statutory Prospectuses

dated December 1, 2013

The following changes will take effect as of June 16, 2014

Dreyfus Intermediate Term Income Fund and Dreyfus Short Term Income Fund

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

Dreyfus Short-Term Income Fund

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The following supersedes and replaces the second sentence of the first paragraph in "Principal Investment Strategy" in the summary prospectuses and "Fund Summary – Principal Investment Strategy" in the statutory prospectuses and the third sentence of the first paragraph in "Fund Details – Goal and Approach" in the statutory prospectuses:

These securities include: U.S. government bonds and notes, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, convertible securities, preferred stocks, inflation-indexed securities, asset-backed securities, mortgage-related securities (including CMOs), floating rate loans (limited to up to 20% of the fund's net assets) and other floating rate securities and foreign bonds.

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

The following supplements the information in "Principal Risks" in the summary prospectuses and "Fund Summary – Principal Risks" in the statutory prospectuses:

• Floating rate loan risk. Unlike publicly traded common stock which trades on national exchanges, there is no central place or exchange for loans to trade. The lack of an active trading market for certain floating rate loans may impair the ability of the fund to realize full value in the event of the need to sell a floating rate loan and may make it difficult to value such loans. There may be less readily available, reliable information about certain floating rate loans than is the case for many other types of securities, and the fund's portfolio managers may be required to rely primarily on their own evaluation of a borrower's credit quality rather than on any available independent sources. The value of collateral, if any, securing a floating rate loan can decline, and may be insufficient to meet the issuer's obligations in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal or may be difficult to readily liquidate. The floating rate loans in which the fund invests typically will be below investment grade quality and, like other below investment grade securities, are inherently speculative. As a result, the risks associated with such floating rate loans are similar to the risks of below investment grade securities, although senior loans are typically senior and secured in contrast to other below investment grade securities, which are often subordinated and unsecured.