Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Controlled Equity Offering (Details) - USD ($)		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	11 Months Ended	14 Months Ended
Controlled Equity Offering (Details) - USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016	Aug. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016
Aggregate proceeds				$ 22,217,000
Cantor \| Common stock
Maximum value of shares available under Controlled Equity Offering	$ 0	$ 30,000,000
Number of shares of common stock sold (in shares)				7,895,563	9,617,875
Aggregate proceeds				$ 24,300,000		$ 30,000,000
Subsequent event \| Cantor \| Common stock
Aggregate proceeds			$ 1,300,000