Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Document and Entity Information

v3.5.0.2
Document and Entity Information - shares
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Nov. 08, 2016
Document And Entity Information    
Entity Registrant Name Pacific Ethanol, Inc.  
Entity Central Index Key 0000778164  
Document Type 10-Q  
Document Period End Date Sep. 30, 2016  
Amendment Flag false  
Current Fiscal Year End Date --12-31  
Entity Filer Category Accelerated Filer  
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding   39,634,084
Trading Symbol PEIX  
Document Fiscal Period Focus Q3  
Document Fiscal Year Focus 2016