Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Aug. 05, 2016
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	ACACIA RESEARCH CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000934549
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		50,383,318