| Cover Page - USD ($) | 12 Months Ended | ||
| Dec. 31, 2020 | Apr. 10, 2021 | Jun. 30, 2020 | |
| Cover [Abstract] | |||
| Document Type | 10-K/A | ||
| Amendment Flag | true | ||
| Amendment Description | This Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A (this “Amendment”) amends the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us” or “Wave”) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 4, 2021 (the “Original 10-K”). The purpose of this Amendment is to include information required by Part III of the Annual Report on Form 10-K that was intentionally omitted from Part III of the Original 10-K. In addition, this Amendment amends Item 15 of Part IV of the Original 10-K to update the exhibit list and to include new certifications by our principal executive officer and principal financial officer under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as required by Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Except as described above, no other changes have been made to the Original 10-K. The Original 10-K continues to speak as of the dates described in the Original 10-K, and we have not updated the disclosures contained therein to reflect any events that occurred subsequent to such dates. Accordingly, this Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Company’s filings made with the SEC subsequent to the filing of the Original 10-K, as information in such filings may update or supersede certain information contained in this Amendment. As used in this Amendment, unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise indicates, references to “Wave,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us” or similar terms refer to Wave Life Sciences Ltd. and our wholly owned subsidiaries. The Wave Life Sciences Ltd. and Wave Life Sciences Pte. Ltd. names, the Wave Life Sciences mark, PRISM and the other registered and pending trademarks, trade names and service marks of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. appearing in this Amendment are the property of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. This Amendment also contains additional trade names, trademarks and service marks belonging to Wave Life Sciences Ltd. and to other companies. We do not intend our use or display of other parties’ trademarks, trade names or service marks to imply, and such use or display should not be construed to imply, a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other parties. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this Amendment are referred to without the ® and ™ symbols, but such reference should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. | ||
| Document Period End Date | Dec. 31, 2020 | ||
| Document Fiscal Year Focus | 2020 | ||
| Document Fiscal Period Focus | FY | ||
| Trading Symbol | WVE | ||
| Entity Registrant Name | WAVE LIFE SCIENCES LTD. | ||
| Entity Central Index Key | 0001631574 | ||
| Current Fiscal Year End Date | --12-31 | ||
| Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer | No | ||
| Entity Current Reporting Status | Yes | ||
| Entity Voluntary Filers | No | ||
| Entity Interactive Data Current | Yes | ||
| Entity Filer Category | Non-accelerated Filer | ||
| Entity Small Business | true | ||
| Entity Emerging Growth Company | false | ||
| Entity Shell Company | false | ||
| Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding | 49,855,763 | ||
| Entity Public Float | $ 267,103,358 | ||
| Title of 12(b) Security | $0 Par Value Ordinary Shares | ||
| Security Exchange Name | NASDAQ | ||
| Entity File Number | 001-37627 | ||
| Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code | U0 | ||
| Entity Tax Identification Number | 00-0000000 | ||
| Entity Address, Address Line One | 7 Straits View #12-00 | ||
| Entity Address, Address Line Two | Marina One | ||
| Entity Address, City or Town | East Tower | ||
| Entity Address, Country | SG | ||
| Entity Address, Postal Zip Code | 018936 | ||
| City Area Code | +65 | ||
| Local Phone Number | 6236 3388 | ||
| Document Annual Report | true | ||
| Document Transition Report | false | ||
| Documents Incorporated by Reference | DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE None. | ||
| ICFR Auditor Attestation Flag | false |
