485BPOS

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 21, 2013

Securities Act File No. 033-52272

Investment Company Act File No. 811-07170

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933	x
Post-Effective Amendment No. 80	x

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940	x
Amendment No. 83	x

TCW FUNDS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

865 South Figueroa Street, Suite 1800

Los Angeles, CA 90017

(Address of Principal Executive Office) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: 1 (213) 244-0000

Patrick W. Dennis, Esq.

Assistant Secretary

865 South Figueroa Street, Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA 90017

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

x Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

¨ On (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)

¨ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

¨ 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

¨ On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

If appropriate, check the following box:

¨ This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously-filed post-effective amendment.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this amendment to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Los Angeles and State of California on the 21^st day of March 2013.

TCW FUNDS, INC.
By:	/s/ Patrick W. Dennis
	Patrick W. Dennis
	Assistant Secretary

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant’s registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature	Title	Date
* /s/ Patrick C. Haden Patrick C. Haden	Chairman and Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Charles W. Baldiswieler Charles W. Baldiswieler	Director and President (Chief Executive Officer)	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Samuel P. Bell Samuel P. Bell	Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ John A. Gavin John A. Gavin	Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Janet E. Kerr Janet E. Kerr	Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Peter McMillan Peter McMillan	Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Charles A. Parker Charles A. Parker	Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Victoria B. Rogers Victoria B. Rogers	Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Marc I. Stern Marc I. Stern	Director	March 21, 2013
* /s/ Andrew Tarica Andrew Tarica	Director	March 21, 2013
/s/ David S. DeVito David S. DeVito	Treasurer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)	March 21, 2013

*By:	/s/ Patrick W. Dennis
	Patrick W. Dennis
	* Pursuant to Powers of Attorney

EXHIBIT INDEX

Index No.	Description of Exhibit
EX-101.INS	XBRL Instance Document
EX-101.SCH	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
EX-101.CAL	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
EX-101.DEF	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
EX-101.LAB	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
EX-101.PRE	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase

XML

TCW High Yield Bond Fund

TCW High Yield Bond Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize income and achieve above average total return consistent with reasonable risk over a full market cycle.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW High Yield Bond Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW High Yield Bond Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.45%	0.45%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.69%	0.81%
Total fund operating expenses		1.14%	1.51%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[1]	0.64%	0.76%
Net Expenses	[1]	0.50%	0.75%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW High Yield Bond Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	51	299	566	1,329
Class N	77	403	752	1,737

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 111.02% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in high yield/below investment grade bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds". If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in equity securities (including common stock and convertible and non-convertible preferred stocks) and bank loans of companies in the high yield universe. Portfolio holdings are diversified by industry and issuer in an attempt to reduce the impact of negative events for an industry or issuer.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio managers look for companies that have:

• strong credit profiles

• favorable industry fundamentals

• good management teams

• stable cash flows

• attractive yields for a given level of risk

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers conclude the issuer has experienced a material deterioration of the above listed factors, the security reaches its targeted price, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the portfolio is rebalanced for diversification purposes.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate more than bonds and may decline over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic or political considerations.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	18.86%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-17.69%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW High Yield Bond Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I		13.92%	7.83%	8.16%
Class I After taxes on distributions		11.65%	4.90%	5.20%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		9.00%	4.90%	5.21%
Class N		14.01%	7.60%	7.88%
Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Custom Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	14.65%	9.57%	10.04%

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.50% of average daily net assets with respect to Class I shares and 0.75% of average daily net assets with respect to Class N shares. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period January 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Custom Index is a blend of the Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Index and Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Capped Index. The Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Index is composed of those cash-pay securities included in the Citigroup US High Yield Market Index with remaining maturities of at least one year. The Citigroup High Yield Market Index captures the performance of below investment-grade debt issued by corporations domiciled in the United States or Canada and includes cash-pay and deferred interest securities that are publicly placed, have a fixed coupon and are non-convertible. The Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Capped Index includes only cash-pay bonds with remaining maturities of at least one year and a minimum amount outstanding of $100 million and a cap on the prior amount of each issuer in the Index at $5 billion.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek capital appreciation,

Objective, Secondary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectiveSecondaryTextBlock

with a secondary goal of current income.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 19.71% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

19.71%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of large capitalization companies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of companies with a market capitalization of greater than $1 billion at the time of purchase. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund will invest mostly in companies the portfolio managers believe are “value companies.” In managing the Fund’s investments, the portfolio managers blend a number of investment strategies. The portfolio managers emphasize investing in companies that tend to have one or more characteristics that are lower than the equivalent characteristics for companies in the S&P 500 Index. The portfolio managers seek companies that they believe are neglected or out of favor and whose stock prices are low in relation to current earnings, cash flow, book value and sales and those companies that they believe have reasonable prospects for growth even though the expectations for these companies are low and their valuations are temporarily depressed.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio managers conclude that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or the security has reached its price target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class N shares. Class I performance would be higher than Class N performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class N Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	19.90%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-25.24%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.14%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.89%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

91

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

284

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

493

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,096

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

19.40%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.13%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.19%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jan. 02, 2004

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.14%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.14%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

116

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

362

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

628

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,386

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

36.93%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

20.44%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

6.78%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

18.50%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

(3.25%)

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(40.94%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

32.98%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

16.63%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(3.89%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

19.09%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

19.90%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(25.24%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

19.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.95%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.79%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

18.94%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.78%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.56%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.60%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.77%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.85%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund | Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.51%

^[2]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.59%

^[2]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.38%

^[2]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.12%

^[2]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jan. 02, 2004

^[2]

[1] annual

[2] The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

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TCW Value Opportunities Fund

TCW Value Opportunities Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Value Opportunities Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Value Opportunities Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.80%	0.80%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.21%	0.35%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.01%	1.40%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	none	0.17%
Net Expenses	[2]	1.01%	1.23%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Value Opportunities Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	103	322	558	1,236
Class N	125	426	750	1,665

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 32.87% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 65% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell MidCap^® Value Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell MidCap^® Value Index was between $313 million and $25 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stock, securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; American Depository Receipts (ADRs) and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund will invest mostly in what the portfolio manager believes are "value companies." The portfolio manager seeks to identify those companies that have fallen out of favor and whose stock is selling below what the portfolio manager believes is its real value. The portfolio manager looks for those stocks with a potential catalyst such as new products, technologies, or management that will trigger an increase in their values.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is a deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or the security has reached its price target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	22.05%	(quarter ended 6/30/2003)
Lowest	-27.18%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Value Opportunities Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I		21.09%	2.74%	8.38%
Class I After taxes on distributions		20.93%	2.58%	7.60%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		13.91%	2.29%	7.17%
Class N		20.82%	2.41%	8.04%
Russell MidCap® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	18.51%	3.79%	10.63%

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.23% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Russell MidCap® Value Index measures the performance of those companies in the Russell MidCap® Index with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Select Equities Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Select Equities Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 19.74% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

19.74%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of mid and large capitalization companies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics. The portfolio manager uses a highly focused approach which seeks to achieve superior long-term returns over a full market cycle by owning shares of companies that he believes to have strong and enduring business models and inherent advantages over their competitors.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or, in the portfolio manager's opinion, the security becomes fully valued or the security becomes too large a position in the Fund or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	20.07%	(quarter ended 6/30/2003)
Lowest	-19.31%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Select Equities Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.11%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.86%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

88

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

274

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

477

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,061

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

50.26%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

12.92%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

3.73%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

(5.12%)

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

13.71%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(37.96%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

43.13%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

16.96%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

3.87%

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

15.80%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2003

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

20.07%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(19.31%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.80%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

4.55%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

9.02%

TCW Select Equities Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.14%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.14%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

116

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

362

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

628

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,386

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.53%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

4.25%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

8.70%

TCW Select Equities Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.50%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

3.98%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

8.52%

TCW Select Equities Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

10.65%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

3.70%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.85%

TCW Select Equities Fund | Russell 1000® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.26%

^[2]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

3.12%

^[2]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.52%

^[2]

[1] annual

[2] The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek total return which exceeds that of its commodity benchmark.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 9.39% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

9.39%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in commodity-linked derivative instruments backed by a portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments. "Fixed Income Instruments" refers to securities of varying maturities issued by domestic and foreign corporations and governments (and their agencies and instrumentalities), including bonds, notes, collateralized bond obligations, collateralized debt obligations, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities, bank loans, money-market securities, swaps and derivatives (including futures, options and credit default swaps), private placements, defaulted debt securities and Rule 144A securities.

The Fund invests in commodity-linked derivative instruments, including commodity index-linked notes, swap agreements, commodity options, futures and options on futures that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets, without investing directly in physical commodities. Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, metals, and agricultural products. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by overall market movements and other factors affecting the value of a particular industry or commodity, such as weather, disease, embargoes, or political and regulatory developments. The Fund may also invest in common and preferred stocks as well as convertible securities of issuers in commodity-related industries.

The Fund will seek to gain exposure to the commodity markets primarily through investments in leveraged or unleveraged commodity index-linked notes, which are derivative debt instruments with principal and/or coupon payments linked to the performance of commodity indices, and through investments in the TCW Cayman Enhanced Commodity Fund, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). The Subsidiary is a Cayman Islands exempted liability company organized pursuant to a Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation dated January 28, 2011. Commodity index-linked notes are sometimes referred to as "structured notes" because the terms of these notes may be structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note. They are derivative securities with one or more commodity-linked components that have payment features similar to commodity futures contracts, commodity options, or similar instruments. Commodity-linked structured products may be either debt or equity securities, leveraged or unleveraged, and have both security and commodity-like characteristics. A portion of the value of these instruments may be derived from the value of a commodity, futures contract, index or other commodity variable. The value of these notes will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index of investment.

The Subsidiary is advised by the Advisor, and has the same investment objective as the Fund. As discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus, the Subsidiary may invest in commodity-linked swap agreements and other commodity-linked derivative instruments to an extent greater than the Fund may make such investments. The Fund's investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the value of the Fund's total assets.

The derivative instruments in which the Fund and the Subsidiary primarily intend to invest are instruments linked to certain commodity indices and instruments linked to the value of a particular commodity or commodity futures contract, or a subset of commodities or commodity futures contracts. These instruments may specify exposure to commodity futures with different roll dates, reset dates or contract terms than those specified by a particular commodity index. As a result, the commodity-linked derivatives component of the Fund's portfolio may deviate from the returns of any particular commodity index. The Fund or the Subsidiary may over-weight or under-weight its exposure to a particular commodity index, or a subset of commodities, such that the Fund has greater or lesser exposure to that index than the value of the Fund's net assets, or greater or lesser exposure to a subset of commodities than is represented by a particular commodity index. Assets not invested in commodity-linked derivative instruments or the Subsidiary may be invested in inflation-indexed securities and other Fixed Income Instruments, including derivative Fixed Income Instruments. The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. In addition, the Fund may invest its assets in particular sectors of the commodities market.

The average portfolio duration of the fixed income portion of this Fund is up to 3 years. Duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed income security that is used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. The Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in securities rated below investment grade (meaning below BBB) at the time of investment. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its assets in foreign securities that are denominated in U.S. dollars. The Fund may invest up to 5%of its assets in securities of foreign issuers that are not denominated in U.S. dollars. The Fund may invest up to 5% of its assets in emerging market foreign securities. The Fund reserves the right to hedge its exposure to foreign currencies to reduce the risk of loss due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, but normally will not do so.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• commodity risk: the risk that investing in commodity-linked derivative instruments may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• tax risk: the risk that the ability of the Fund to gain commodity exposure as contemplated may be adversely affected by future legislation, regulatory developments, interpretive guidance or other actions by the Internal Revenue Service or the Treasury Department as discussed under "Distributions and Taxes."

• subsidiary risk: the risk that, by investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary's investments. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]

rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	11.94%	(quarter ended 9/30/2012)
Lowest	-5.32%	(quarter ended 12/31/2012)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees of the Fund and Subsidiary

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.50%

^[1]

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Expenses of the Fund

rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets

3.39%

Expenses of the Subsidiary

rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets

2.05%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

5.44%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

5.94%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

5.24%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.70%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

72

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

1,299

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

2,503

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

5,417

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

4.63%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2012

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

11.94%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2012

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(5.32%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.63%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(7.65%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Apr. 01, 2011

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees of the Fund and Subsidiary

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.50%

^[1]

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Expenses of the Fund

rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets

3.50%

Expenses of the Subsidiary

rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets

2.05%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

5.55%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

6.30%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

5.60%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.70%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

72

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

1,369

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

2,632

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

5,650

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.63%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(7.64%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Apr. 01, 2011

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.76%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(8.43%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Apr. 01, 2011

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.03%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(6.90%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Apr. 01, 2011

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund | Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index Total Return (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

(1.06%)

^[3]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(10.65%)

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Apr. 01, 2011

^[3]

[1] The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in TCW Cayman Enhanced Commodity Fund, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). The Subsidiary has entered into a separate advisory agreement with TCW Investment Management Company (the “Advisor”) for the management of the Subsidiary's portfolio pursuant to which the Subsidiary is obligated to pay the Advisor a management fee at the same rate that the Fund pays the Advisor for services provided to the Fund. The Advisor is contractually obligated to waive the management fee it receives from the Fund in an amount equal to the management fee paid to the Advisor by the Subsidiary. This waiver may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Directors of the Fund.

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.70% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index Total Return is a total return index based on the Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index ("DJ-UBSCI"), which is comprised of commodities traded on U.S. exchanges, with the exception of aluminum, nickel and zinc, which trade on the London Metal Exchange. The Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index Total Return reflects the return on fully collateralized positions in the DJ-UBSCI.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW High Yield Bond Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW High Yield Bond Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize income and achieve above average total return consistent with reasonable risk over a full market cycle.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 111.02% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

111.02%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in high yield/below investment grade bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds". If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in equity securities (including common stock and convertible and non-convertible preferred stocks) and bank loans of companies in the high yield universe. Portfolio holdings are diversified by industry and issuer in an attempt to reduce the impact of negative events for an industry or issuer.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio managers look for companies that have:

• strong credit profiles

• favorable industry fundamentals

• good management teams

• stable cash flows

• attractive yields for a given level of risk

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers conclude the issuer has experienced a material deterioration of the above listed factors, the security reaches its targeted price, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the portfolio is rebalanced for diversification purposes.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate more than bonds and may decline over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic or political considerations.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	18.86%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-17.69%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW High Yield Bond Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.45%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.69%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.14%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.64%

^[1]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.50%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

51

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

299

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

566

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,329

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

22.78%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

9.72%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

0.49%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

9.62%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

1.25%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(25.55%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

50.82%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

14.91%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(0.80%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

13.92%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

18.86%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(17.69%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.92%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.83%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

8.16%

TCW High Yield Bond Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.45%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.81%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.51%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.76%

^[1]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.75%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

77

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

403

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

752

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,737

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

14.01%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

7.60%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.88%

TCW High Yield Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.65%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

4.90%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.20%

TCW High Yield Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

9.00%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

4.90%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.21%

TCW High Yield Bond Fund | Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Custom Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

14.65%

^[2]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

9.57%

^[2]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

10.04%

^[2]

[1] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.50% of average daily net assets with respect to Class I shares and 0.75% of average daily net assets with respect to Class N shares. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period January 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[2] The Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Custom Index is a blend of the Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Index and Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Capped Index. The Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Index is composed of those cash-pay securities included in the Citigroup US High Yield Market Index with remaining maturities of at least one year. The Citigroup High Yield Market Index captures the performance of below investment-grade debt issued by corporations domiciled in the United States or Canada and includes cash-pay and deferred interest securities that are publicly placed, have a fixed coupon and are non-convertible. The Citigroup High Yield Cash Pay Capped Index includes only cash-pay bonds with remaining maturities of at least one year and a minimum amount outstanding of $100 million and a cap on the prior amount of each issuer in the Index at $5 billion.

XML

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund
(formerly known as the TCW Global Conservative Allocation Fund)

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide current income

and, secondarily, long term capital appreciation. This investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Conservative Allocation Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Conservative Allocation Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		none	none
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.67%	2.45%
Acquired funds fees and expenses		0.61%	0.61%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.28%	3.31%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	none	1.85%
Net Expenses	[2]	1.28%	1.46%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Conservative Allocation Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	130	406	702	1,545
Class N	149	846	1,566	3,478

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 59.12% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in a combination of (i) fixed income funds, and (ii) equity funds that utilize diverse investment styles, such as growth and/or value investing. The Fund's emphasis on diversification is intended to temper volatility by lessening the effect of any one investment style. The Fund seeks to do this by investing in a combination of other funds — the "Underlying Funds" — through the implementation of a strategic asset allocation strategy. These funds include the TCW Funds and Metropolitan West Intermediate Bond, Metropolitan West High Yield Bond and Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Funds. Metropolitan West Asset Management, LLC, investment advisor to the Metropolitan West Funds, and the Fund's Advisor are affiliated wholly-owned subsidiaries of the TCW Group, Inc.

The Fund invests in the Underlying Funds at levels that are determined by the Advisor's four-step process, whereby the Advisor preliminarily ranks the Underlying Funds, constructs a portfolio model, determines allocations and conducts analyses of the portfolio.

The equity Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests, in turn, invest principally in equity securities of large capitalization companies that include common and preferred stock, rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock, securities convertible into common or preferred stock, and other securities with equity characteristics. The Fund invests between 20% and 60% of its net assets in equity Underlying Funds and international equity exchange traded funds ("ETFs"). ETFs are typically open-end investment companies whose shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange or the NASDAQ National Market System. The Fund may also invest in exchange traded notes ("ETNs"). ETNs are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities issued by a bank or other financial institution. ETNs have a maturity date and are backed only by the credit of the issuer. The returns of ETNs are linked to the performance of a market benchmark or strategy, less investor fees.

The fixed income Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests, in turn, invest principally in fixed income securities that include U.S. Government and corporate obligations, bonds, notes and debentures; mortgage-backed securities; asset-backed securities; foreign securities (government and corporate); other securities bearing fixed or variable interest rates of any maturity; and high yield/below investment grade bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds". The Fund invests between 40% and 80% of its net assets in fixed income Underlying Funds.

The Fund is a "fund of funds." The Fund is subject to the risks associated with each of the Underlying Funds. Additionally, the operating expenses incurred by each Underlying Fund are borne indirectly by shareholders of the Fund. The Fund directly bears its annual operating expenses and indirectly bears the annual operating expenses of each of the Underlying Funds in proportion to its allocation. Each of the Underlying Funds pays a management fee to the Advisor or its affiliate and the management fees differ among the Underlying Funds. This may create a conflict of interest when the Advisor selects Underlying Funds for investment by the Fund.

The portfolio managers determine and monitor the combination and allocation to the Underlying Funds they believe will allow the Fund to achieve its investment goal. While there is no cap on investing in any one Underlying Fund, the Fund will, under normal market conditions, adhere to the asset class limitations described above. Asset allocations may differ from the targeted range due to the market fluctuations and other factors. After the initial allocation, the portfolio managers determine when the Fund's allocations to the Underlying Funds should be rebalanced to maintain the targeted allocations. The target allocation ranges may be modified due to market action or a portfolio manager recommendation without advance notice to shareholders.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund based on the risks of the Underlying Funds that can cause a decline in value are:

• underlying fund risk: the risks associated with investing in the Fund are closely related to the risks associated with the securities and other investments held by the Underlying Funds.

• allocation risk: the risk that the Advisor will make less than optimal or poor asset allocation decisions on selecting the appropriate mix of Underlying Funds.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• ETF and ETN risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment will fluctuate in response to performance of the ETFs or ETNs owned by the Fund, and the Fund's shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the ETF's or ETN's expenses, in addition to paying the Fund's expenses.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	9.80%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-6.96%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Conservative Allocation Fund		1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		11.43%	5.42%	5.10%	Nov. 16, 2006
Class I After taxes on distributions		10.54%	4.47%	4.01%	Nov. 16, 2006
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		7.44%	4.19%	3.82%	Nov. 16, 2006
Class N		11.26%	5.38%	5.06%	Nov. 16, 2006
40% S&P 500 Index/60% Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	8.95%	4.67%	5.03%	Nov. 16, 2006

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depends on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.85% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The S&P 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of investment grade fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage backed securities, with maturities of at least one year.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Value Opportunities Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Value Opportunities Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 32.87% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

32.87%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 65% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell MidCap^® Value Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell MidCap^® Value Index was between $313 million and $25 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stock, securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; American Depository Receipts (ADRs) and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund will invest mostly in what the portfolio manager believes are "value companies." The portfolio manager seeks to identify those companies that have fallen out of favor and whose stock is selling below what the portfolio manager believes is its real value. The portfolio manager looks for those stocks with a potential catalyst such as new products, technologies, or management that will trigger an increase in their values.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is a deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or the security has reached its price target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	22.05%	(quarter ended 6/30/2003)
Lowest	-27.18%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Value Opportunities Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.80%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.21%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.01%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

none

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.01%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

103

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

322

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

558

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,236

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

48.98%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

10.72%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

6.30%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

12.90%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

(1.28%)

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(37.81%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

30.36%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

22.90%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(5.14%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

21.09%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2003

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

22.05%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(27.18%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

21.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.74%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

8.38%

TCW Value Opportunities Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.80%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.35%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.40%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.17%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.23%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

125

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

426

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

750

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,665

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

20.82%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.41%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

8.04%

TCW Value Opportunities Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

20.93%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.58%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.60%

TCW Value Opportunities Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.91%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.29%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.17%

TCW Value Opportunities Fund | Russell MidCap® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

18.51%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

3.79%

^[3]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

10.63%

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.23% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Russell MidCap® Value Index measures the performance of those companies in the Russell MidCap® Index with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

XML

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize current income and achieve above average total return consistent with prudent investment management over a full market cycle.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Core Fixed Income Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Core Fixed Income Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.40%	0.40%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.09%	0.14%
Total fund operating expenses		0.49%	0.79%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[1]	0.05%	0.01%
Net Expenses	[1]	0.44%	0.78%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Core Fixed Income Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	45	152	269	611
Class N	80	251	438	977

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 213.82% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. These debt securities include but are not limited to securities issued or guaranteed by the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; corporate obligations (including convertible securities); mortgage-backed securities; asset backed securities; U.S. dollar denominated foreign securities (corporate and government); and other securities bearing fixed or variable interest rates of any maturity.

The Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in high yield/below investment grade bonds, commonly known as "junk" bonds. The Fund may also invest a portion of its assets in bank loans of companies in the high yield universe. High yield portfolio holdings are diversified by industry and issuer in an attempt to reduce the impact of negative events for an industry or issuer.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may invest in securities that are commonly referred to as mortgage derivatives, including inverse floaters, and interest only (IO), principal-only (PO), inverse IOs and tiered index bonds. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio managers use a controlled risk approach. The techniques of this approach attempt to control the principal risk components of the fixed income markets and include consideration of:

• security selection within a given sector

• relative performance of the various market sectors

• the shape of the yield curve

• fluctuations in the overall level of interest rates

The portfolio managers also utilize active asset allocation in managing the Fund's investments and monitor the duration of the Fund's portfolio securities to seek to mitigate the Fund's exposure to interest rate risk.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because they believe the portfolio securities no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities, there is perceived deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	7.35%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-2.34%	(quarter ended 6/30/2004)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Core Fixed Income Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I		7.19%	8.74%	6.81%
Class I After taxes on distributions		6.02%	6.67%	4.87%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		4.73%	6.31%	4.69%
Class N		6.84%	8.38%	6.47%
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	4.21%	5.95%	5.18%

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.44% with respect to Class I shares and 0.78% with respect to Class N shares of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of investment grade fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities with maturities of at least one year.

XML

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund

TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek capital appreciation,

with a secondary goal of current income.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.14%	0.14%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	0.89%	1.14%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	91	284	493	1,096
Class N	116	362	628	1,386

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 19.71% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of large capitalization companies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of companies with a market capitalization of greater than $1 billion at the time of purchase. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund will invest mostly in companies the portfolio managers believe are “value companies.” In managing the Fund’s investments, the portfolio managers blend a number of investment strategies. The portfolio managers emphasize investing in companies that tend to have one or more characteristics that are lower than the equivalent characteristics for companies in the S&P 500 Index. The portfolio managers seek companies that they believe are neglected or out of favor and whose stock prices are low in relation to current earnings, cash flow, book value and sales and those companies that they believe have reasonable prospects for growth even though the expectations for these companies are low and their valuations are temporarily depressed.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio managers conclude that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or the security has reached its price target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class N shares. Class I performance would be higher than Class N performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class N Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	19.90%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-25.24%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class N		19.09%	0.95%	7.79%
Class N After taxes on distributions		18.94%	0.78%	7.56%
Class N After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		12.60%	0.77%	6.85%
Class I		19.40%	1.13%		5.19%	Jan. 02, 2004
Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	17.51%	0.59%	7.38%	5.12%	Jan. 02, 2004

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[1] The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide high total return from current income and capital appreciation, through investment in debt securities denominated in the local currencies of various Emerging Market Countries.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate (annualized) was 252.93% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

252.93%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund will invest (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities issued or guaranteed by non-financial companies, financial institutions and government entities in Emerging Market Countries (as defined in the paragraph below) denominated in the local currencies of the issuer, and in derivative instruments that provide investment exposure to such securities. The Fund may, but is not required to, hedge its exposure to non-U.S. currencies. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. The Fund may invest in securities that are unrated or rated BB or lower by S&P, or Ba or lower by Moody's. Debt securities rated below investment grade are high yield, high risk bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds."

An Emerging Market Country is a country that has a developing economy or market and is considered an emerging or developing country by the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development or any affiliate thereof (the "World Bank") as well as The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Macau, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Arab Emirates.

The Fund may invest in defaulted securities where the portfolio managers believe the restructured enterprise valuations or liquidation valuations may significantly exceed current market values. The Fund may use derivative instruments, such as credit-linked notes, structured investments, options, futures and options on futures (including those related to options, securities, foreign currencies, indexes and interest rates), forward contracts, swaps (including interest rate and credit default swaps) and options on swaps, as a substitute for investing directly in debt securities and currencies, to increase returns, to manage credit or interest rate risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of the Fund's investment portfolio or as part of a hedging strategy. Swap agreements can be used to transfer the credit risk of a security without actually transferring ownership of the security or to customize exposure to a particular issuer. The Fund also may make forward commitments in which the Fund agrees to buy or sell a security in the future at a price agreed upon today.

In allocating investments among various Emerging Market Countries, the portfolio managers attempt to analyze internal political, market and economic factors. These factors include, but are not limited to:

• Public finances

• Monetary policy

• External accounts

• Financial markets

• Foreign investment regulations

• Exchange rate policy

• Labor conditions

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers believe the individual security has reached its sell target, the portfolio managers perceive deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio managers believe there are negative macro geopolitical considerations that may affect the issuer or the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the security at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]

rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	9.67%	(quarter ended 3/31/2012)
Lowest	-9.43%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.21%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.96%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

none

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.96%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

98

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

306

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

531

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,178

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(1.49%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

18.05%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Mar. 31, 2012

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

9.67%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(9.43%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

18.05%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

8.43%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 15, 2010

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.25%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.25%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.26%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.99%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

101

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

371

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

661

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,488

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.94%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

8.38%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 15, 2010

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.66%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

7.29%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 15, 2010

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.72%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.56%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 15, 2010

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund | JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

16.76%

^[3]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

7.56%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 15, 2010

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.99% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index is a comprehensive global local emerging markets index, and consists of liquid, fixed-rate, domestic currency government bonds.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Global Bond Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Global Bond Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek total return.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 165.46% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

165.46%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund will invest (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of its net assets in debt securities of government and corporate issuers. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. A debt security is a security representing money borrowed by the issuer that must be repaid. The terms of a debt security specify the amount of principal, the interest rate or discount, and the time or times at which payments are due. The Fund can invest in various types of debt securities generally referred to as "bonds", including corporate bonds, government bonds, convertible bonds, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, "structured" notes, participation interests in loans, "zero-coupon" or "stripped" securities and other debt obligations.

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest in securities of issuers located in at least three different countries (one of which may be the United States) and will invest at least 30% of its net assets in securities of issuers located outside the United States. The Fund invests in corporate debt securities of issuers in a number of countries, which may include the United States. The Fund invests in securities of issuers located in developed and emerging market countries. The Fund may invest across all fixed-income sectors, including U.S. and non-U.S. government securities. The Fund's investments may be denominated in local currency or U.S. dollar-denominated. The Fund may invest in debt securities with a range of maturities from short- to long-term.

The Fund does not limit its investments to a particular credit or ratings category and can invest up to 35% of its net assets in securities rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bonds"). "Investment grade" debt securities are rated in one of the highest four categories by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations such as Moody's or Standard & Poor's. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities in which case the Advisor may internally assign ratings to certain of these securities, after assessing their credit quality in categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.

The Fund may also invest in derivatives including, for example, options, forward contracts, futures contracts and swaps (including interest rate swaps, total return swaps, and credit default swaps). The Fund may invest in derivatives for various purposes, including hedging, to increase or decrease the Fund's exposure to a particular market, to manage or adjust the risk profile of the Fund related to an investment or currency exposure, to adjust its currency exposure relative to its benchmark index, and to earn income and enhance returns. The Fund's exposure to derivatives will vary.

In selecting securities, the portfolio managers evaluate the overall investment opportunities and risks in individual national economies. The portfolio managers analyze the business cycle, political and macro-economic factors that affect exchange rates and interest rates in both emerging markets and developing countries. In addition to considering broad economic factors, the portfolio managers apply a "bottom-up" approach in choosing investments. This means that the portfolio managers conduct fundamental research on each individual security and determine whether the security is an attractive investment opportunity based upon the risk adjusted cash flow characteristics of the security.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because they believe the portfolio securities no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities, there is perceived deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Risk [Heading]

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Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]

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• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

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The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

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www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

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Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

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Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

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Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	5.73%	(quarter ended 9/30/2012)
Lowest	1.23%	(quarter ended 12/31/2012)

Performance Table Heading

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Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

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After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

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Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

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After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Global Bond Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

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Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.55%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.87%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.42%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.27%

^[1]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.15%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

117

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

423

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

751

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,679

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

12.55%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2012

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

5.73%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2012

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

1.23%

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.55%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

12.61%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 01, 2011

TCW Global Bond Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.55%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.88%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.68%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.53%

^[1]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.15%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

117

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

478

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

863

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,943

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.55%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

12.61%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 01, 2011

TCW Global Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

10.28%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

10.41%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 01, 2011

TCW Global Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

8.12%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.45%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 01, 2011

TCW Global Bond Fund | Barclays Global Aggregate Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.32%

^[2]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.63%

^[2]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Dec. 01, 2011

^[2]

[1] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.15% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[2] The Barclays Global Aggregate Index Provides a broad-based measure of the global investment grade fixed rate debt markets. The index is not available for direct investment; therefore its performance does not reflect a reduction for fees or expenses incurred in managing a portfolio. The securities in the index may be substantially different from those in the Fund.

XML

TCW Dividend Focused Fund

TCW Dividend Focused Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to realize a high level of dividend income consistent with prudent investment management.

Capital appreciation is a secondary objective.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Dividend Focused Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Dividend Focused Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.10%	0.14%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	0.85%	1.14%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Dividend Focused Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	87	271	471	1,049
Class N	116	362	628	1,386

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 23.15% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of companies that have a record of paying dividends. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics.

The portfolio manager analyzes economic and market conditions and identifies securities that the portfolio manager believes will make the best investments in the pursuit of the Fund's investment objective. In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager considers factors which may include one or more of the following:

• the company's current valuation

• the company's market capitalization

• the company's price/earnings ratio

• the company's current dividend yield

• the company's potential for a strong positive cash flow and future dividend yields

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or the security has reached its price target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class N shares. Class I performance would be higher than Class N performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class N Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	19.02%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-26.89%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Dividend Focused Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class N		20.44%	0.88%	7.15%
Class N After taxes on distributions		20.11%	0.59%	6.64%
Class N After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		13.69%	0.69%	6.20%
Class I		20.73%	1.17%		4.66%	Nov. 01, 2004
Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	17.51%	0.59%	7.38%	4.75%	Nov. 01, 2004

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[1] The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund
(formerly known as the TCW Global Conservative Allocation Fund)

Objective [Heading]

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Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide current income

Objective, Secondary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectiveSecondaryTextBlock

and, secondarily, long term capital appreciation. This investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 59.12% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

59.12%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in a combination of (i) fixed income funds, and (ii) equity funds that utilize diverse investment styles, such as growth and/or value investing. The Fund's emphasis on diversification is intended to temper volatility by lessening the effect of any one investment style. The Fund seeks to do this by investing in a combination of other funds — the "Underlying Funds" — through the implementation of a strategic asset allocation strategy. These funds include the TCW Funds and Metropolitan West Intermediate Bond, Metropolitan West High Yield Bond and Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Funds. Metropolitan West Asset Management, LLC, investment advisor to the Metropolitan West Funds, and the Fund's Advisor are affiliated wholly-owned subsidiaries of the TCW Group, Inc.

The Fund invests in the Underlying Funds at levels that are determined by the Advisor's four-step process, whereby the Advisor preliminarily ranks the Underlying Funds, constructs a portfolio model, determines allocations and conducts analyses of the portfolio.

The equity Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests, in turn, invest principally in equity securities of large capitalization companies that include common and preferred stock, rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock, securities convertible into common or preferred stock, and other securities with equity characteristics. The Fund invests between 20% and 60% of its net assets in equity Underlying Funds and international equity exchange traded funds ("ETFs"). ETFs are typically open-end investment companies whose shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange or the NASDAQ National Market System. The Fund may also invest in exchange traded notes ("ETNs"). ETNs are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities issued by a bank or other financial institution. ETNs have a maturity date and are backed only by the credit of the issuer. The returns of ETNs are linked to the performance of a market benchmark or strategy, less investor fees.

The fixed income Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests, in turn, invest principally in fixed income securities that include U.S. Government and corporate obligations, bonds, notes and debentures; mortgage-backed securities; asset-backed securities; foreign securities (government and corporate); other securities bearing fixed or variable interest rates of any maturity; and high yield/below investment grade bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds". The Fund invests between 40% and 80% of its net assets in fixed income Underlying Funds.

The Fund is a "fund of funds." The Fund is subject to the risks associated with each of the Underlying Funds. Additionally, the operating expenses incurred by each Underlying Fund are borne indirectly by shareholders of the Fund. The Fund directly bears its annual operating expenses and indirectly bears the annual operating expenses of each of the Underlying Funds in proportion to its allocation. Each of the Underlying Funds pays a management fee to the Advisor or its affiliate and the management fees differ among the Underlying Funds. This may create a conflict of interest when the Advisor selects Underlying Funds for investment by the Fund.

The portfolio managers determine and monitor the combination and allocation to the Underlying Funds they believe will allow the Fund to achieve its investment goal. While there is no cap on investing in any one Underlying Fund, the Fund will, under normal market conditions, adhere to the asset class limitations described above. Asset allocations may differ from the targeted range due to the market fluctuations and other factors. After the initial allocation, the portfolio managers determine when the Fund's allocations to the Underlying Funds should be rebalanced to maintain the targeted allocations. The target allocation ranges may be modified due to market action or a portfolio manager recommendation without advance notice to shareholders.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund based on the risks of the Underlying Funds that can cause a decline in value are:

• underlying fund risk: the risks associated with investing in the Fund are closely related to the risks associated with the securities and other investments held by the Underlying Funds.

• allocation risk: the risk that the Advisor will make less than optimal or poor asset allocation decisions on selecting the appropriate mix of Underlying Funds.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• ETF and ETN risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment will fluctuate in response to performance of the ETFs or ETNs owned by the Fund, and the Fund's shareholders will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the ETF's or ETN's expenses, in addition to paying the Fund's expenses.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	9.80%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-6.96%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depends on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depends on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

none

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.67%

Acquired funds fees and expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.61%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.28%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

none

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.28%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

130

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

406

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

702

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,545

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

3.67%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(11.80%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

19.91%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

10.55%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(0.04%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

11.43%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

9.80%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(6.96%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.43%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

5.42%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.10%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 16, 2006

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

none

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

2.45%

Acquired funds fees and expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.61%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

3.31%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

1.85%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.46%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

149

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

846

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

1,566

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

3,478

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.26%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

5.38%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.06%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 16, 2006

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

10.54%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

4.47%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.01%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 16, 2006

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

7.44%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

4.19%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.82%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 16, 2006

TCW Conservative Allocation Fund | 40% S&P 500 Index/60% Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

8.95%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

4.67%

^[3]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.03%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 16, 2006

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.85% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The S&P 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of investment grade fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage backed securities, with maturities of at least one year.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 79.27% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

79.27%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell 2000^® Growth Index. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell 2000^® Growth Index was between $27 million and $5 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stock, securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; and other securities with equity characteristics. Within these parameters, the Fund may invest in securities of foreign companies listed on a U.S. exchange or in American Depository Receipts (ADRs).

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio manager uses a small cap growth investment philosophy. That philosophy consists of company-by-company analysis to screen potential investments and to monitor securities in the Fund's portfolio. Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• small-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of mid- and large-capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	32.25%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-26.38%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

1.00%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.16%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.16%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

118

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

368

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

638

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,409

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

49.35%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

9.13%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

8.86%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

13.79%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

18.98%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(38.71%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

63.28%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

22.44%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(11.45%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

3.12%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

32.25%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(26.38%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.12%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.27%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

10.39%

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

1.00%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.19%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.44%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

147

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

456

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

787

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,724

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

2.85%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.96%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

10.03%

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

3.12%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.27%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

10.39%

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

2.03%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.95%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

9.31%

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund | Russell 2000® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

14.59%

^[2]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

3.49%

^[2]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

9.80%

^[2]

[1] annual

[2] The Russell 2000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and high forecasted growth values.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Growth Equities Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Growth Equities Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 48.75% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

48.75%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell MidCap^® Growth Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell MidCap^® Growth Index was between $418 million and $25 billion. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund invests primarily in issuers which are characterized as "growth" companies according to criteria established by the portfolio manager. Within these parameters, the Fund may invest in securities of foreign companies listed on a U.S. exchange, American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or American Depository Shares (ADS).

In managing the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager uses a "bottom up" approach to identify securities for investment. First, quantitative and qualitative criteria are used to screen companies. Companies that make it through this screening process are then subjected to fundamental analysis which generally looks for one or more of the following factors:

• a record of consistent earnings growth or the potential to grow earnings

• an ability to earn an attractive return on equity

• a large and growing market share

• a strong balance sheet

• significant ownership by management and a strong management team

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, the individual security has reached its sell target or if an individual security weighting or sector weighting is too large.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	20.82%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-26.36%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Growth Equities Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

1.00%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.21%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.21%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.01%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.20%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

122

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

383

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

664

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,465

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

10.90%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

3.69%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

30.46%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(46.53%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

50.99%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

21.83%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(6.73%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

7.79%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

20.82%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(26.36%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

7.79%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(0.23%)

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.71%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 01, 2004

TCW Growth Equities Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

1.00%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.48%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.73%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.53%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.20%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

122

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

493

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

889

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,997

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

7.85%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(0.26%)

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.68%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 01, 2004

TCW Growth Equities Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

7.43%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(0.41%)

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

5.39%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 01, 2004

TCW Growth Equities Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

5.22%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(0.22%)

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.92%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 01, 2004

TCW Growth Equities Fund | Russell MidCap® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.81%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

3.23%

^[3]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

6.76%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 01, 2004

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.20% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Russell MidCap® Growth Index measures the performance of those companies in the Russell MidCap® Index with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

XML

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund

TCW Small Cap Growth Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Small Cap Growth Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Small Cap Growth Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		1.00%	1.00%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.16%	0.19%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.16%	1.44%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Small Cap Growth Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	118	368	638	1,409
Class N	147	456	787	1,724

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 79.27% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell 2000^® Growth Index. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell 2000^® Growth Index was between $27 million and $5 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stock, securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; and other securities with equity characteristics. Within these parameters, the Fund may invest in securities of foreign companies listed on a U.S. exchange or in American Depository Receipts (ADRs).

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio manager uses a small cap growth investment philosophy. That philosophy consists of company-by-company analysis to screen potential investments and to monitor securities in the Fund's portfolio. Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• small-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of mid- and large-capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	32.25%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-26.38%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Small Cap Growth Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I		3.12%	2.27%	10.39%
Class I After taxes on distributions		3.12%	2.27%	10.39%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		2.03%	1.95%	9.31%
Class N		2.85%	1.96%	10.03%
Russell 2000® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	14.59%	3.49%	9.80%

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[1] The Russell 2000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and high forecasted growth values.

XML

TCW International Growth Fund

TCW International Growth Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long term capital appreciation. This investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW International Growth Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW International Growth Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.85%	0.85%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses	[1]	3.84%	3.84%
Total fund operating expenses	[2]	4.69%	4.94%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[3]	3.65%	3.60%
Net Expenses	[3]	1.04%	1.34%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW International Growth Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years
Class I	106	1,084
Class N	136	1,161

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, no portfolio turnover figures are available.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will invest primarily (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in equity securities of companies across all market capitalizations that are domiciled outside the United States or whose primary business operations are outside the United States. The Fund invests primarily in issuers which are characterized as "growth" companies according to criteria established by the portfolio manager. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks; securities convertible into common or preferred stocks such as convertible bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stocks; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); Global Depository Receipts (GDRs); and other securities with equity characteristics.

In selecting securities, the Fund's portfolio manager evaluates investment opportunities on a company-by-company basis. This approach includes fundamental analysis of a company's financial statements and management structure and consideration of the company's operations and product development as well as its position in its industry. In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager considers companies which have one or more of the following attributes:

• businesses that are entering into a growth cycle
• accelerating earnings growth or cash flow whose stock is selling at a reasonable valuation
• strong competitive position in their industry
• strong management team
• ability to take advantage of business opportunities

The portfolio manager also considers the effect of worldwide trends on the growth of particular business sectors and looks for companies that may benefit from those trends. The trends considered include but are not limited to: rising domestic demand, new technologies, and a country's and a global or local industry's cycle. Trends that are considered may change over time.

The Fund may invest in companies that are not currently generating cash flow, but are expected to do so in the future in the portfolio manager's opinion.

The Fund may invest in derivatives such as swaps, options, futures, foreign currency futures and forward contracts. These practices may be used to hedge the Fund's portfolio as well as for investment purposes; however, such practices may reduce returns or increase volatility.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio manager perceives deterioration in the fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio manager believes negative macro geo-political considerations may affect the issuer, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the security has reached its perceived price target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.
• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.
• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.
• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.
• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment adviser primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.
• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than principal amount invested.
• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.
• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.
• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.
• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.
• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.
• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.
• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.
• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.
• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.
• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The Fund commenced operations on November 1, 2012. Performance information will be included after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.

[1] "Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year and calculated as a percentage of the Fund's assets.

[2] annual

[3] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.04% with respect to Class I shares and 1.34% with respect to Class N shares of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period November 1, 2012 through February 28, 2014 and prior to such date, the investment advisor may not terminate this arrangement without approval of the Board of Directors. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Concentrated Value Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Concentrated Value Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 24.99% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

24.99%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund invests primarily in the equity securities of large capitalization companies. The Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in publicly traded equity securities of companies with market capitalizations of greater than $3 billion dollars at time of acquisition. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund typically invests in a portfolio of 25 to 40 companies. In managing the Fund's investments, the portfolio managers seek to invest in attractively valued equity securities where the return on invested capital is improving. Bottom-up fundamental research is used to identify these companies. The portfolio managers will use both qualitative and quantitative screening criteria to supplement the fundamental research. The portfolio managers' quantitative screening focuses on companies that have a disciplined approach to investing capital and favors companies with increasing return on investment capital. The Fund invests in companies trading at prices the portfolio managers believe are below their intrinsic values.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio managers conclude that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or, in the portfolio managers' opinion, the security has reached its sell target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class N shares. Class I performance would be higher than Class N performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class N Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	19.77%	(quarter ended 12/31/2003)
Lowest	-31.47%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Concentrated Value Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.65%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.54%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.19%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.04%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.15%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

117

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

374

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

650

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,440

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

16.44%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(3.49%)

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.07%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 01, 2004

TCW Concentrated Value Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.65%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

2.39%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

3.29%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

2.14%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.15%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

117

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

812

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

1,531

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

3,439

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

39.18%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

11.07%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

10.86%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

15.31%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

3.95%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(45.09%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

25.54%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

15.37%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(11.25%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

16.61%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2003

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

19.77%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(31.47%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

16.61%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(3.82%)

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.39%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Concentrated Value Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

16.39%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(3.88%)

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.34%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Concentrated Value Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.09%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

(3.21%)

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

4.72%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Concentrated Value Fund | Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.51%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.59%

^[3]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.38%

^[3]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.75%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 01, 2004

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.15% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period February 28, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize current income and achieve above average total return consistent with prudent investment management over a full market cycle.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 213.82% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

213.82%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. These debt securities include but are not limited to securities issued or guaranteed by the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; corporate obligations (including convertible securities); mortgage-backed securities; asset backed securities; U.S. dollar denominated foreign securities (corporate and government); and other securities bearing fixed or variable interest rates of any maturity.

The Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in high yield/below investment grade bonds, commonly known as "junk" bonds. The Fund may also invest a portion of its assets in bank loans of companies in the high yield universe. High yield portfolio holdings are diversified by industry and issuer in an attempt to reduce the impact of negative events for an industry or issuer.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may invest in securities that are commonly referred to as mortgage derivatives, including inverse floaters, and interest only (IO), principal-only (PO), inverse IOs and tiered index bonds. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio managers use a controlled risk approach. The techniques of this approach attempt to control the principal risk components of the fixed income markets and include consideration of:

• security selection within a given sector

• relative performance of the various market sectors

• the shape of the yield curve

• fluctuations in the overall level of interest rates

The portfolio managers also utilize active asset allocation in managing the Fund's investments and monitor the duration of the Fund's portfolio securities to seek to mitigate the Fund's exposure to interest rate risk.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because they believe the portfolio securities no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities, there is perceived deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	7.35%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-2.34%	(quarter ended 6/30/2004)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.40%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.09%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.49%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.05%

^[1]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.44%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

45

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

152

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

269

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

611

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

7.54%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

5.28%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

0.57%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

3.87%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

7.11%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

3.99%

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

15.63%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

10.28%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

6.98%

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

7.19%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

7.35%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2004

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(2.34%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

7.19%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

8.74%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.81%

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.40%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.14%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.79%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.01%

^[1]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.78%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

80

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

251

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

438

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

977

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

6.84%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

8.38%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.47%

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

6.02%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

6.67%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

4.87%

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.73%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

6.31%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

4.69%

TCW Core Fixed Income Fund | Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.21%

^[2]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

5.95%

^[2]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.18%

^[2]

[1] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.44% with respect to Class I shares and 0.78% with respect to Class N shares of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[2] The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of investment grade fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities with maturities of at least one year.

XML

TCW Concentrated Value Fund

TCW Concentrated Value Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Concentrated Value Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Concentrated Value Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.65%	0.65%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.54%	2.39%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.19%	3.29%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	0.04%	2.14%
Net Expenses	[2]	1.15%	1.15%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Concentrated Value Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	117	374	650	1,440
Class N	117	812	1,531	3,439

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 24.99% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in the equity securities of large capitalization companies. The Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in publicly traded equity securities of companies with market capitalizations of greater than $3 billion dollars at time of acquisition. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund typically invests in a portfolio of 25 to 40 companies. In managing the Fund's investments, the portfolio managers seek to invest in attractively valued equity securities where the return on invested capital is improving. Bottom-up fundamental research is used to identify these companies. The portfolio managers will use both qualitative and quantitative screening criteria to supplement the fundamental research. The portfolio managers' quantitative screening focuses on companies that have a disciplined approach to investing capital and favors companies with increasing return on investment capital. The Fund invests in companies trading at prices the portfolio managers believe are below their intrinsic values.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio managers conclude that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or, in the portfolio managers' opinion, the security has reached its sell target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class N shares. Class I performance would be higher than Class N performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class N Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	19.77%	(quarter ended 12/31/2003)
Lowest	-31.47%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Concentrated Value Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class N		16.61%	(3.82%)	5.39%
Class N After taxes on distributions		16.39%	(3.88%)	5.34%
Class N After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		11.09%	(3.21%)	4.72%
Class I		16.44%	(3.49%)		2.07%	Nov. 01, 2004
Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	17.51%	0.59%	7.38%	4.75%	Nov. 01, 2004

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.15% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period February 28, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	TCW FUNDS INC
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Feb. 28, 2013
Document Creation Date	dei_DocumentCreationDate	Feb. 28, 2013

XML

TCW International Small Cap Fund

TCW International Small Cap Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW International Small Cap Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW International Small Cap Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.57%	0.64%
Acquired Fund Fees		0.01%	0.01%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.33%	1.65%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	none	0.20%
Net Expenses	[2]	1.33%	1.45%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW International Small Cap Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	135	421	729	1,601
Class N	148	501	878	1,938

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recently fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 139.84% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will invest primarily (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in equity securities of small capitalization companies that are domiciled outside the United States or whose primary business operations are outside the United States. Small capitalization companies are companies with a market capitalization (share price multiplied by number of shares outstanding) of $6 billion or less at time of investment and the Fund is not required to sell a security if its market capitalization appreciates above $6 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks; securities convertible into common or preferred stocks such as convertible bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stocks; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); Global Depository Receipts (GDRs); and other securities with equity characteristics. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of small capitalization companies. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change.

In selecting securities, the Fund's portfolio manager evaluates investment opportunities on a company-by-company basis. This approach includes fundamental analysis of a company's financial statements and management structure and consideration of the company's operations and product development as well as its position in the industry. In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager considers companies which have one or more of the following attributes:

• businesses that are entering into a growth cycle

• accelerating earnings growth or cash flow whose stock is selling at a reasonable valuation

• strong competitive position in their industry

• strong management team

• ability to take advantage of business opportunities

The portfolio manager also considers the effect of worldwide trends on the growth of particular business sectors and looks for companies that may benefit from those trends. The trends considered include but are not limited to: rising domestic demand, new technologies, a country's and a global or local industry cycle. Trends that are considered may change over time.

The Fund may invest in companies that are not currently generating cashflow, but are expected to do so in the future in the portfolio manager's opinion.

The Fund may invest in derivatives such as options, futures, foreign currency futures and forward contracts. These practices may be used to hedge the Fund's portfolio as well as for investment purposes; however, such practices may reduce returns or increase volatility.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio manager perceives deterioration in the fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio manager believes negative macro geo-political considerations may affect the issuer, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the security has reached its perceived price target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment adviser primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• insurer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the security at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	20.29%	(quarter ended 3/31/2012)
Lowest	-13.28%	(quarter ended 6/30/2012)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW International Small Cap Fund		1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		14.56%	(11.22%)	Feb. 28, 2011
Class I After taxes on distributions		12.45%	(12.21%)	Feb. 28, 2011
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		9.61%	(9.98%)	Feb. 28, 2011
Class N		14.41%	(11.30%)	Feb. 28, 2011
MSCI All Country World Index ex-U.S. Small Cap Net (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	18.52%	(2.37%)	Feb. 28, 2011

After tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.44% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The MSCI All Country World Index ex-U.S. Small Cap Net is a market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity performance in 47 global developed markets and emerging markets, excluding the U.S., and is composed of stocks categorized as small company stocks.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Growth Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Growth Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 45.47% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

45.47%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 65% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of publicly traded companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of companies comprising the Russell 3000^® Growth Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell 3000^® Growth Index was between $27 million and $498 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; and other securities with equity characteristics. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities listed on a U.S. exchange or in the form of depository receipts, such as American Depository Receipts (ADRs), or listed on a foreign exchange. In addition, the Fund may invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The portfolio managers apply a "bottom up" approach in choosing investments. In other words, the portfolio managers look at companies, across all market capitalizations, one at a time to determine if a company is an attractive investment opportunity and consistent with the Fund's investment objective.

The Fund seeks to manage risk by limiting weighting in any security or any one sector.

The Advisor uses multiple portfolio managers to manage the Fund's assets. Under this approach, the Fund's investment portfolio is divided into segments managed by individual portfolio managers. The portfolio managers decide how their respective segments will be invested.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the intermediate or long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or, in the portfolio managers' opinion, the security has reached its sell target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	22.13%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-25.31%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Growth Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.44%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.19%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.20%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.99%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

101

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

358

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

635

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,425

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(40.25%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

49.87%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

22.00%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(6.07%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

12.62%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

22.13%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(25.31%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.62%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.94%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.94%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jan. 02, 2008

TCW Growth Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

2.85%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

3.85%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

2.86%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.99%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

101

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

911

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

1,740

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

3,897

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.72%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.95%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.95%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jan. 02, 2008

TCW Growth Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.62%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.92%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.92%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jan. 02, 2008

TCW Growth Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

8.20%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.52%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.52%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jan. 02, 2008

TCW Growth Fund | Russell 3000® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

15.21%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

3.15%

^[3]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

3.15%

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jan. 02, 2008

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.99% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Russell 3000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 3000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

XML

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund

TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek total return which exceeds that of its commodity benchmark.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees of the Fund and Subsidiary	[1]	0.50%	0.50%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		5.44%	5.55%
Expenses of the Fund		3.39%	3.50%
Expenses of the Subsidiary		2.05%	2.05%
Total fund operating expenses		5.94%	6.30%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	5.24%	5.60%
Net Expenses	[2]	0.70%	0.70%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	72	1,299	2,503	5,417
Class N	72	1,369	2,632	5,650

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 9.39% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in commodity-linked derivative instruments backed by a portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments. "Fixed Income Instruments" refers to securities of varying maturities issued by domestic and foreign corporations and governments (and their agencies and instrumentalities), including bonds, notes, collateralized bond obligations, collateralized debt obligations, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities, bank loans, money-market securities, swaps and derivatives (including futures, options and credit default swaps), private placements, defaulted debt securities and Rule 144A securities.

The Fund invests in commodity-linked derivative instruments, including commodity index-linked notes, swap agreements, commodity options, futures and options on futures that provide exposure to the investment returns of the commodities markets, without investing directly in physical commodities. Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, metals, and agricultural products. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by overall market movements and other factors affecting the value of a particular industry or commodity, such as weather, disease, embargoes, or political and regulatory developments. The Fund may also invest in common and preferred stocks as well as convertible securities of issuers in commodity-related industries.

The Fund will seek to gain exposure to the commodity markets primarily through investments in leveraged or unleveraged commodity index-linked notes, which are derivative debt instruments with principal and/or coupon payments linked to the performance of commodity indices, and through investments in the TCW Cayman Enhanced Commodity Fund, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). The Subsidiary is a Cayman Islands exempted liability company organized pursuant to a Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation dated January 28, 2011. Commodity index-linked notes are sometimes referred to as "structured notes" because the terms of these notes may be structured by the issuer and the purchaser of the note. They are derivative securities with one or more commodity-linked components that have payment features similar to commodity futures contracts, commodity options, or similar instruments. Commodity-linked structured products may be either debt or equity securities, leveraged or unleveraged, and have both security and commodity-like characteristics. A portion of the value of these instruments may be derived from the value of a commodity, futures contract, index or other commodity variable. The value of these notes will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index of investment.

The Subsidiary is advised by the Advisor, and has the same investment objective as the Fund. As discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus, the Subsidiary may invest in commodity-linked swap agreements and other commodity-linked derivative instruments to an extent greater than the Fund may make such investments. The Fund's investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the value of the Fund's total assets.

The derivative instruments in which the Fund and the Subsidiary primarily intend to invest are instruments linked to certain commodity indices and instruments linked to the value of a particular commodity or commodity futures contract, or a subset of commodities or commodity futures contracts. These instruments may specify exposure to commodity futures with different roll dates, reset dates or contract terms than those specified by a particular commodity index. As a result, the commodity-linked derivatives component of the Fund's portfolio may deviate from the returns of any particular commodity index. The Fund or the Subsidiary may over-weight or under-weight its exposure to a particular commodity index, or a subset of commodities, such that the Fund has greater or lesser exposure to that index than the value of the Fund's net assets, or greater or lesser exposure to a subset of commodities than is represented by a particular commodity index. Assets not invested in commodity-linked derivative instruments or the Subsidiary may be invested in inflation-indexed securities and other Fixed Income Instruments, including derivative Fixed Income Instruments. The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. In addition, the Fund may invest its assets in particular sectors of the commodities market.

The average portfolio duration of the fixed income portion of this Fund is up to 3 years. Duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed income security that is used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. The Fund may invest up to 5% of its net assets in securities rated below investment grade (meaning below BBB) at the time of investment. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its assets in foreign securities that are denominated in U.S. dollars. The Fund may invest up to 5%of its assets in securities of foreign issuers that are not denominated in U.S. dollars. The Fund may invest up to 5% of its assets in emerging market foreign securities. The Fund reserves the right to hedge its exposure to foreign currencies to reduce the risk of loss due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, but normally will not do so.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• commodity risk: the risk that investing in commodity-linked derivative instruments may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• tax risk: the risk that the ability of the Fund to gain commodity exposure as contemplated may be adversely affected by future legislation, regulatory developments, interpretive guidance or other actions by the Internal Revenue Service or the Treasury Department as discussed under "Distributions and Taxes."

• subsidiary risk: the risk that, by investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary's investments. There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	11.94%	(quarter ended 9/30/2012)
Lowest	-5.32%	(quarter ended 12/31/2012)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund		1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		4.63%	(7.65%)	Apr. 01, 2011
Class I After taxes on distributions		3.76%	(8.43%)	Apr. 01, 2011
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		3.03%	(6.90%)	Apr. 01, 2011
Class N		4.63%	(7.64%)	Apr. 01, 2011
Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index Total Return (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	(1.06%)	(10.65%)	Apr. 01, 2011

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in TCW Cayman Enhanced Commodity Fund, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the "Subsidiary"). The Subsidiary has entered into a separate advisory agreement with TCW Investment Management Company (the “Advisor”) for the management of the Subsidiary's portfolio pursuant to which the Subsidiary is obligated to pay the Advisor a management fee at the same rate that the Fund pays the Advisor for services provided to the Fund. The Advisor is contractually obligated to waive the management fee it receives from the Fund in an amount equal to the management fee paid to the Advisor by the Subsidiary. This waiver may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Directors of the Fund.

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.70% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index Total Return is a total return index based on the Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index ("DJ-UBSCI"), which is comprised of commodities traded on U.S. exchanges, with the exception of aluminum, nickel and zinc, which trade on the London Metal Exchange. The Dow Jones UBS Commodity Index Total Return reflects the return on fully collateralized positions in the DJ-UBSCI.

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TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund

TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide high total return from current income and capital appreciation, through investment in debt securities denominated in the local currencies of various Emerging Market Countries.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.21%	0.25%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	0.96%	1.25%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	none	0.26%
Net Expenses	[2]	0.96%	0.99%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	98	306	531	1,178
Class N	101	371	661	1,488

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate (annualized) was 252.93% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will invest (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities issued or guaranteed by non-financial companies, financial institutions and government entities in Emerging Market Countries (as defined in the paragraph below) denominated in the local currencies of the issuer, and in derivative instruments that provide investment exposure to such securities. The Fund may, but is not required to, hedge its exposure to non-U.S. currencies. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. The Fund may invest in securities that are unrated or rated BB or lower by S&P, or Ba or lower by Moody's. Debt securities rated below investment grade are high yield, high risk bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds."

An Emerging Market Country is a country that has a developing economy or market and is considered an emerging or developing country by the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development or any affiliate thereof (the "World Bank") as well as The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Macau, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Arab Emirates.

The Fund may invest in defaulted securities where the portfolio managers believe the restructured enterprise valuations or liquidation valuations may significantly exceed current market values. The Fund may use derivative instruments, such as credit-linked notes, structured investments, options, futures and options on futures (including those related to options, securities, foreign currencies, indexes and interest rates), forward contracts, swaps (including interest rate and credit default swaps) and options on swaps, as a substitute for investing directly in debt securities and currencies, to increase returns, to manage credit or interest rate risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of the Fund's investment portfolio or as part of a hedging strategy. Swap agreements can be used to transfer the credit risk of a security without actually transferring ownership of the security or to customize exposure to a particular issuer. The Fund also may make forward commitments in which the Fund agrees to buy or sell a security in the future at a price agreed upon today.

In allocating investments among various Emerging Market Countries, the portfolio managers attempt to analyze internal political, market and economic factors. These factors include, but are not limited to:

• Public finances

• Monetary policy

• External accounts

• Financial markets

• Foreign investment regulations

• Exchange rate policy

• Labor conditions

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers believe the individual security has reached its sell target, the portfolio managers perceive deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio managers believe there are negative macro geopolitical considerations that may affect the issuer or the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the security at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	9.67%	(quarter ended 3/31/2012)
Lowest	-9.43%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Emerging Markets Local Currency Income Fund		1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		18.05%	8.43%	Dec. 15, 2010
Class I After taxes on distributions		17.66%	7.29%	Dec. 15, 2010
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		11.72%	6.56%	Dec. 15, 2010
Class N		17.94%	8.38%	Dec. 15, 2010
JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	16.76%	7.56%	Dec. 15, 2010

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.99% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The JP Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified Index is a comprehensive global local emerging markets index, and consists of liquid, fixed-rate, domestic currency government bonds.

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Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Total Return Bond Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Total Return Bond Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize current income and achieve above average total return consistent with prudent investment management over a full market cycle.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 123.43% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

123.43%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. "Debt securities" include bonds, notes and other fixed income instruments issued by governmental or private sector issuers. The Fund may invest in securitized obligations of any maturity or type guaranteed by, or secured by collateral that is guaranteed by, the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations, and privately issued mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. At least 50% of the Fund's net assets will be invested in securitized obligations guaranteed by the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; privately issued mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities rated at time of investment Aa3 or higher by Moody's or AA- or higher by S&P or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical organization; other obligations of the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; and money market instruments. The Fund may invest in privately issued securitized obligations rated below investment grade, which are commonly known as "junk bonds". Such bonds are rated below Baa3 by Moody's or BBB by S&P.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may invest in securities that are commonly known as mortgage derivatives, including inverse floaters, and interest only (IO), principal-only (PO), inverse IOs and tiered index bonds. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio managers seek to construct an investment portfolio with a weighted average effective duration of no more than eight years. Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because they believe the portfolio securities no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	8.21%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-2.01%	(quarter ended 6/30/2004)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Total Return Bond Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.50%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.07%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.57%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.13%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.44%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

45

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

170

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

305

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

701

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

3.05%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

5.20%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

3.36%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

5.27%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

6.60%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

1.09%

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

19.88%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

10.74%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

4.12%

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

13.41%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

8.21%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2004

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(2.01%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.41%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

9.65%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.14%

TCW Total Return Bond Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.50%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.09%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.84%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.10%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.74%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

76

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

258

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

456

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,028

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.05%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

9.34%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.82%

TCW Total Return Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

11.04%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

6.79%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

4.79%

TCW Total Return Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

8.64%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

6.58%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

4.71%

TCW Total Return Bond Fund | Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

4.21%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

5.95%

^[3]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.18%

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.44% with respect to Class I shares and 0.74% with respect to Class N shares of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of investment grade fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, with maturities of at least one year.

XML

TCW Short Term Bond Fund

TCW Short Term Bond Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize current income.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees (USD $)	TCW Short Term Bond Fund Class I
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses		TCW Short Term Bond Fund Class I
Management fees		0.35%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none
Other expenses		1.28%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.63%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	1.19%
Net Expenses	[2]	0.44%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
TCW Short Term Bond Fund Class I	45	397	774	1,832

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 81.91% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of debt securities of varying maturities, including bonds, notes and other similar fixed income instruments issued by governmental or private sector issuers. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change.

The Fund may invest in obligations of the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; money market instruments; corporate debt securities rated at the time of investment A3 or higher by Moody's A- or higher by S&P or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical ratings organization; mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by, or secured by collateral that is guaranteed by, the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; and privately issued mortgage-backed securities including asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in high yield/below investment grade securities ("junk bonds") or unrated securities. The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may invest in securities that are commonly referred to as mortgage derivatives, including inverse floaters, and interest-only (IO), principal-only (PO), inverse IOs and tiered index bonds. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio manager seeks to construct an investment portfolio with a weighted average effective duration of no more than two years. Portfolio securities and other instruments may be sold when the Fund's portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because he believes the portfolio securities and other instruments no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities, there is perceived deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer or it is determined to rebalance the investment portfolio.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to grater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	3.94%	(quarter ended 3/31/2010)
Lowest	-2.89%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Short Term Bond Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I		2.91%	2.28%	2.53%
Class I After taxes on distributions		2.41%	1.02%	1.32%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		1.89%	1.20%	1.44%
Citigroup 1-Year Treasury Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	0.27%	1.45%	2.16%

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.44% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Citigroup 1-Year Treasury Index represents the return of one-year Treasuries each month. It is determined by taking the 1-year Treasury Bill at the beginning of the month and calculating its return.

XML

Document and Entity Information	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2013
Risk/Return:
Document Type	485BPOS
Document Period End Date	Oct. 31, 2012
Registrant Name	TCW FUNDS INC
Central Index Key	0000892071
Amendment Flag	false
Document Creation Date	Feb. 28, 2013
Document Effective Date	Feb. 28, 2013
Prospectus Date	Feb. 28, 2013

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Short Term Bond Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Short Term Bond Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize current income.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 81.91% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

81.91%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of debt securities of varying maturities, including bonds, notes and other similar fixed income instruments issued by governmental or private sector issuers. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change.

The Fund may invest in obligations of the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; money market instruments; corporate debt securities rated at the time of investment A3 or higher by Moody's A- or higher by S&P or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical ratings organization; mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by, or secured by collateral that is guaranteed by, the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; and privately issued mortgage-backed securities including asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in high yield/below investment grade securities ("junk bonds") or unrated securities. The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may invest in securities that are commonly referred to as mortgage derivatives, including inverse floaters, and interest-only (IO), principal-only (PO), inverse IOs and tiered index bonds. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio manager seeks to construct an investment portfolio with a weighted average effective duration of no more than two years. Portfolio securities and other instruments may be sold when the Fund's portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because he believes the portfolio securities and other instruments no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities, there is perceived deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer or it is determined to rebalance the investment portfolio.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to grater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	3.94%	(quarter ended 3/31/2010)
Lowest	-2.89%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Short Term Bond Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.35%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

1.28%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.63%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

1.19%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

0.44%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

45

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

397

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

774

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,832

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

0.91%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

1.88%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

2.29%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

4.34%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

4.56%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(4.35%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

4.11%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

8.43%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

0.73%

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

2.91%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Mar. 31, 2010

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

3.94%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(2.89%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

2.91%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

2.28%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

2.53%

TCW Short Term Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

2.41%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.02%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

1.32%

TCW Short Term Bond Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

1.89%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.20%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

1.44%

TCW Short Term Bond Fund | Citigroup 1-Year Treasury Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.27%

^[3]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.45%

^[3]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

2.16%

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.44% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Citigroup 1-Year Treasury Index represents the return of one-year Treasuries each month. It is determined by taking the 1-year Treasury Bill at the beginning of the month and calculating its return.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek high total return from current income and capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 174.98% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

174.98%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities issued or guaranteed by companies, financial institutions and government entities in Emerging Market Countries (as defined in the paragraph below). If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. The debt securities in which the Fund invests may consist of securities that are unrated or rated BB or lower by S&P or Ba or lower by Moody's. Debt securities rated below investment grade are high yield, high risk bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds". The Fund will generally invest in at least four Emerging Market Countries.

An Emerging Market Country is a country that has a developing economy or market and is considered an emerging or developing country by the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development or any affiliate thereof (the "World Bank") as well as The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Macau, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Arab Emirates.

The Fund may invest in defaulted corporate securities where the portfolio managers believe the restructured enterprise valuations or liquidation valuations may significantly exceed current market values. In addition, the Fund may invest in defaulted sovereign investments where the portfolio manager believes the expected debt sustainability of the country exceeds current market valuations. The Fund may use derivative instruments, such as credit-linked notes, structured investments, options, futures, and options on futures (including those related to options, securities, foreign currencies, indexes and interest rates), forward contracts, swaps (including interest rate and credit default swaps) and options on swaps, as a substitute for investing directly in debt securities and currencies, to increase returns, to manage credit or interest rate risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of the Fund's investment portfolio or as part of a hedging strategy. Swap agreements can be used to transfer the credit risk of a security without actually transferring ownership of the security or to customize exposure to a particular issuer.

The Fund also may make forward commitments in which the Fund agrees to buy or sell a security in the future at a price agreed upon today.

In allocating investments among various Emerging Market Countries, the portfolio managers attempt to analyze internal political, market and economic factors. These factors include, but are not limited to:

• Public finances

• Monetary policy

• External accounts

• Financial markets

• Foreign investment regulations

• Exchange rate policy

• Labor conditions

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers believe the individual security has reached its sell target, the portfolio managers perceive deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio managers believe there are negative macro geo-political considerations that may affect the issuer or the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	16.44%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-9.47%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.09%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.84%

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

86

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

268

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

466

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,037

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

29.16%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

12.88%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

7.64%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

8.21%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

4.23%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(12.61%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

44.78%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

21.27%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

1.95%

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

22.54%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

16.44%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(9.47%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

22.54%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

13.90%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

12.99%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.11%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.11%

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

113

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

353

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

612

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,352

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

22.26%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

13.65%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

11.15%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 01, 2004

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

19.17%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

10.77%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

9.15%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

14.52%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

10.06%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

8.91%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund | JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.44%

^[1]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

10.07%

^[1]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

10.98%

^[1]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

9.84%

^[1]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 01, 2004

^[1]

[1] The JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index is a market capitalization-weighted total return index of U.S. dollar and other external currency-denominated Brady bonds, loans, Eurobonds, and local market debt instruments traded in emerging markets.

XML

TCW Growth Equities Fund

TCW Growth Equities Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Growth Equities Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Growth Equities Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		1.00%	1.00%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.21%	0.48%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.21%	1.73%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	0.01%	0.53%
Net Expenses	[2]	1.20%	1.20%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Growth Equities Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	122	383	664	1,465
Class N	122	493	889	1,997

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 48.75% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of the companies comprising the Russell MidCap^® Growth Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell MidCap^® Growth Index was between $418 million and $25 billion. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; and other securities with equity characteristics.

The Fund invests primarily in issuers which are characterized as "growth" companies according to criteria established by the portfolio manager. Within these parameters, the Fund may invest in securities of foreign companies listed on a U.S. exchange, American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or American Depository Shares (ADS).

In managing the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager uses a "bottom up" approach to identify securities for investment. First, quantitative and qualitative criteria are used to screen companies. Companies that make it through this screening process are then subjected to fundamental analysis which generally looks for one or more of the following factors:

• a record of consistent earnings growth or the potential to grow earnings

• an ability to earn an attractive return on equity

• a large and growing market share

• a strong balance sheet

• significant ownership by management and a strong management team

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, the individual security has reached its sell target or if an individual security weighting or sector weighting is too large.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	20.82%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-26.36%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Growth Equities Fund		1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		7.79%	(0.23%)	5.71%	Mar. 01, 2004
Class I After taxes on distributions		7.43%	(0.41%)	5.39%	Mar. 01, 2004
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		5.22%	(0.22%)	4.92%	Mar. 01, 2004
Class N		7.85%	(0.26%)	5.68%	Mar. 01, 2004
Russell MidCap® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	15.81%	3.23%	6.76%	Mar. 01, 2004

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.20% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Russell MidCap® Growth Index measures the performance of those companies in the Russell MidCap® Index with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

XML

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund

TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek high total return from current income and capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund	Class I	Class N
Management fees	0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees	none	0.25%
Other expenses	0.09%	0.11%
Total fund operating expenses	0.84%	1.11%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	86	268	466	1,037
Class N	113	353	612	1,352

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 174.98% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities issued or guaranteed by companies, financial institutions and government entities in Emerging Market Countries (as defined in the paragraph below). If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. The debt securities in which the Fund invests may consist of securities that are unrated or rated BB or lower by S&P or Ba or lower by Moody's. Debt securities rated below investment grade are high yield, high risk bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds". The Fund will generally invest in at least four Emerging Market Countries.

An Emerging Market Country is a country that has a developing economy or market and is considered an emerging or developing country by the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development or any affiliate thereof (the "World Bank") as well as The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Macau, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Arab Emirates.

The Fund may invest in defaulted corporate securities where the portfolio managers believe the restructured enterprise valuations or liquidation valuations may significantly exceed current market values. In addition, the Fund may invest in defaulted sovereign investments where the portfolio manager believes the expected debt sustainability of the country exceeds current market valuations. The Fund may use derivative instruments, such as credit-linked notes, structured investments, options, futures, and options on futures (including those related to options, securities, foreign currencies, indexes and interest rates), forward contracts, swaps (including interest rate and credit default swaps) and options on swaps, as a substitute for investing directly in debt securities and currencies, to increase returns, to manage credit or interest rate risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of the Fund's investment portfolio or as part of a hedging strategy. Swap agreements can be used to transfer the credit risk of a security without actually transferring ownership of the security or to customize exposure to a particular issuer.

The Fund also may make forward commitments in which the Fund agrees to buy or sell a security in the future at a price agreed upon today.

In allocating investments among various Emerging Market Countries, the portfolio managers attempt to analyze internal political, market and economic factors. These factors include, but are not limited to:

• Public finances

• Monetary policy

• External accounts

• Financial markets

• Foreign investment regulations

• Exchange rate policy

• Labor conditions

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers believe the individual security has reached its sell target, the portfolio managers perceive deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio managers believe there are negative macro geo-political considerations that may affect the issuer or the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	16.44%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-9.47%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Emerging Markets Income Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		22.54%	13.90%	12.99%
Class I After taxes on distributions		19.17%	10.77%	9.15%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		14.52%	10.06%	8.91%
Class N		22.26%	13.65%		11.15%	Mar. 01, 2004
JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	17.44%	10.07%	10.98%	9.84%	Mar. 01, 2004

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] The JP Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index is a market capitalization-weighted total return index of U.S. dollar and other external currency-denominated Brady bonds, loans, Eurobonds, and local market debt instruments traded in emerging markets.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW Dividend Focused Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW Dividend Focused Fund

Objective [Heading]

rr_ObjectiveHeading

Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to realize a high level of dividend income consistent with prudent investment management.

Objective, Secondary [Text Block]

rr_ObjectiveSecondaryTextBlock

Capital appreciation is a secondary objective.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

rr_OperatingExpensesCaption

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 23.15% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

23.15%

Expense Example [Heading]

rr_ExpenseExampleHeading

Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

rr_StrategyHeading

Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of companies that have a record of paying dividends. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics.

The portfolio manager analyzes economic and market conditions and identifies securities that the portfolio manager believes will make the best investments in the pursuit of the Fund's investment objective. In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager considers factors which may include one or more of the following:

• the company's current valuation

• the company's market capitalization

• the company's price/earnings ratio

• the company's current dividend yield

• the company's potential for a strong positive cash flow and future dividend yields

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or the security has reached its price target.

Risk [Heading]

rr_RiskHeading

Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

rr_RiskLoseMoney

You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading

Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class N shares. Class I performance would be higher than Class N performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture

Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

rr_BarChartHeading

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class N Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	19.02%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-26.89%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Performance Table Heading

rr_PerformanceTableHeading

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred

Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW Dividend Focused Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.10%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

0.85%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

87

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

271

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

471

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,049

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

20.73%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

1.17%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.66%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 01, 2004

TCW Dividend Focused Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.14%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.14%

^[1]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

116

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

362

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

628

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,386

2003

rr_AnnualReturn2003

31.58%

2004

rr_AnnualReturn2004

17.42%

2005

rr_AnnualReturn2005

2.98%

2006

rr_AnnualReturn2006

18.19%

2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

1.56%

2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(43.92%)

2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

32.74%

2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

19.02%

2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(2.10%)

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

20.44%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Sep. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

19.02%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(26.89%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

20.44%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.88%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.15%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Dividend Focused Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

20.11%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.59%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.64%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Dividend Focused Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

13.69%

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.69%

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.20%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

TCW Dividend Focused Fund | Russell 1000® Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

17.51%

^[2]

5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

0.59%

^[2]

10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

7.38%

^[2]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

4.75%

^[2]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 01, 2004

^[2]

[1] annual

[2] The Russell 1000® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.

XML

TCW Growth Fund

TCW Growth Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Growth Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Growth Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.44%	2.85%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.19%	3.85%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	0.20%	2.86%
Net Expenses	[2]	0.99%	0.99%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Growth Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	101	358	635	1,425
Class N	101	911	1,740	3,897

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 45.47% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 65% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of publicly traded companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of companies comprising the Russell 3000^® Growth Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization of companies included in the Russell 3000^® Growth Index was between $27 million and $498 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; and other securities with equity characteristics. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities listed on a U.S. exchange or in the form of depository receipts, such as American Depository Receipts (ADRs), or listed on a foreign exchange. In addition, the Fund may invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The portfolio managers apply a "bottom up" approach in choosing investments. In other words, the portfolio managers look at companies, across all market capitalizations, one at a time to determine if a company is an attractive investment opportunity and consistent with the Fund's investment objective.

The Fund seeks to manage risk by limiting weighting in any security or any one sector.

The Advisor uses multiple portfolio managers to manage the Fund's assets. Under this approach, the Fund's investment portfolio is divided into segments managed by individual portfolio managers. The portfolio managers decide how their respective segments will be invested.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the intermediate or long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or, in the portfolio managers' opinion, the security has reached its sell target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	22.13%	(quarter ended 6/30/2009)
Lowest	-25.31%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Growth Fund		1 Year	5 Years	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		12.62%	2.94%	2.94%	Jan. 02, 2008
Class I After taxes on distributions		12.62%	2.92%	2.92%	Jan. 02, 2008
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		8.20%	2.52%	2.52%	Jan. 02, 2008
Class N		12.72%	2.95%	2.95%	Jan. 02, 2008
Russell 3000® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	15.21%	3.15%	3.15%	Jan. 02, 2008

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.99% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Russell 3000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 3000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

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TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund

TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		1.00%	1.00%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.36%	0.39%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	1.36%	1.64%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	0.16%	0.44%
Net Expenses	[2]	1.20%	1.20%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	122	415	729	1,621
Class N	122	474	850	1,907

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 78.76% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will invest (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of companies comprising the Russell 2500^® Growth Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization range of companies included in the Russell 2500^® Growth Index was between $27 million and $9 billion. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks; securities convertible into common or preferred stocks such as convertible bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stocks; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and American Depository Shares (ADS).

The Fund invests primarily in issuers which are characterized as "growth" companies according to parameters established by the portfolio managers. Within these parameters, the Fund may invest in securities of foreign companies including companies in emerging or developing markets listed on a U.S. exchange, ADRs or ADS.

In managing the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager uses a "bottom up" approach to identify companies for investment. The primary focus is on companies where the portfolio manager's estimates of a company's free cash flow growth is above that implied by current Wall Street estimates and, in the portfolio manager's opinion, the security is attractively valued relative to those cash flows. Companies that make it through this screening process are then subjected to fundamental analysis which generally looks for one or more of the following factors:

• competing in a large or growing market offering the potential for increasing market share

• the ability to fund revenue and earnings growth with internally generated free cash flow and/or balance sheet cash

• a differentiated product or service

• a strong balance sheet

• a strong management team and significant ownership by management

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, the individual security has reached its sell target or if an individual security weighting or sector weighting is too large.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund’s shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company’s financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment adviser primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund’s investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the security at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers’ choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see “Principal Risks and Risk Definitions” for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	13.93%	(quarter ended 3/31/2012)
Lowest	-24.96%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund		1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		7.99%	2.45%	Nov. 01, 2010
Class I After taxes on distributions		7.99%	2.45%	Nov. 01, 2010
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		5.19%	2.09%	Nov. 01, 2010
Class N		7.99%	2.45%	Nov. 01, 2010
Russell 2500® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	16.13%	11.95%	Nov. 01, 2010

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.20% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Russell 2500® Growth Index measures the performance of small to mid-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe and includes those Russell 2500® Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	TCW FUNDS INC
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Feb. 28, 2013
TCW International Growth Fund
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	TCW International Growth Fund
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long term capital appreciation. This investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination	February 28, 2014
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, no portfolio turnover figures are available.
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text]	rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates	"Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year and calculated as a percentage of the Fund's assets.
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	The Fund will invest primarily (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in equity securities of companies across all market capitalizations that are domiciled outside the United States or whose primary business operations are outside the United States. The Fund invests primarily in issuers which are characterized as "growth" companies according to criteria established by the portfolio manager. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks; securities convertible into common or preferred stocks such as convertible bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stocks; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); Global Depository Receipts (GDRs); and other securities with equity characteristics. In selecting securities, the Fund's portfolio manager evaluates investment opportunities on a company-by-company basis. This approach includes fundamental analysis of a company's financial statements and management structure and consideration of the company's operations and product development as well as its position in its industry. In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager considers companies which have one or more of the following attributes: businesses that are entering into a growth cycle accelerating earnings growth or cash flow whose stock is selling at a reasonable valuation strong competitive position in their industry strong management team ability to take advantage of business opportunities The portfolio manager also considers the effect of worldwide trends on the growth of particular business sectors and looks for companies that may benefit from those trends. The trends considered include but are not limited to: rising domestic demand, new technologies, and a country's and a global or local industry's cycle. Trends that are considered may change over time. The Fund may invest in companies that are not currently generating cash flow, but are expected to do so in the future in the portfolio manager's opinion. The Fund may invest in derivatives such as swaps, options, futures, foreign currency futures and forward contracts. These practices may be used to hedge the Fund's portfolio as well as for investment purposes; however, such practices may reduce returns or increase volatility. Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio manager perceives deterioration in the fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio manager believes negative macro geo-political considerations may affect the issuer, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the security has reached its perceived price target.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund. The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are: foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests. foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar. emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries. equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions. investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment adviser primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price. derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than principal amount invested. leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result. globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region. price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down. issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services. liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance. market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities. securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities. portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results. small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund. non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund. Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund. Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	You can lose money by investing in the Fund.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]	rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus	non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]	rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution	Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Investment Results
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The Fund commenced operations on November 1, 2012. Performance information will be included after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	The Fund commenced operations on November 1, 2012. Performance information will be included after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
TCW International Growth Fund | Class I
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther	none
Management fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	3.84%	[1]
Total fund operating expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	4.69%	[2]
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	3.65%	[3]
Net Expenses	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.04%	[3]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	106
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	1,084
TCW International Growth Fund | Class N
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther	none
Management fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.85%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	0.25%
Other expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	3.84%	[1]
Total fund operating expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	4.94%	[2]
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets	3.60%	[3]
Net Expenses	rr_NetExpensesOverAssets	1.34%	[3]
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	136
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	1,161

[1] "Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year and calculated as a percentage of the Fund's assets.

[2] annual

[3] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.04% with respect to Class I shares and 1.34% with respect to Class N shares of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period November 1, 2012 through February 28, 2014 and prior to such date, the investment advisor may not terminate this arrangement without approval of the Board of Directors. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

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TCW Select Equities Fund

TCW Select Equities Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Select Equities Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Select Equities Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.75%	0.75%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.11%	0.14%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	0.86%	1.14%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Select Equities Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	88	274	477	1,061
Class N	116	362	628	1,386

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 19.74% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of mid and large capitalization companies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stock; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stock; securities convertible into common or preferred stock such as convertible preferred stock, bonds or debentures; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and other securities with equity characteristics. The portfolio manager uses a highly focused approach which seeks to achieve superior long-term returns over a full market cycle by owning shares of companies that he believes to have strong and enduring business models and inherent advantages over their competitors.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, or, in the portfolio manager's opinion, the security becomes fully valued or the security becomes too large a position in the Fund or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio manager's choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment advisor primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	20.07%	(quarter ended 6/30/2003)
Lowest	-19.31%	(quarter ended 12/31/2008)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Select Equities Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I		15.80%	4.55%	9.02%
Class I After taxes on distributions		15.50%	3.98%	8.52%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		10.65%	3.70%	7.85%
Class N		15.53%	4.25%	8.70%
Russell 1000® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	15.26%	3.12%	7.52%

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[1] The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

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TCW Global Bond Fund

TCW Global Bond Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek total return.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Global Bond Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Global Bond Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.55%	0.55%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.87%	0.88%
Total fund operating expenses		1.42%	1.68%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[1]	0.27%	0.53%
Net Expenses	[1]	1.15%	1.15%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Global Bond Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	117	423	751	1,679
Class N	117	478	863	1,943

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 165.46% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will invest (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of its net assets in debt securities of government and corporate issuers. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. A debt security is a security representing money borrowed by the issuer that must be repaid. The terms of a debt security specify the amount of principal, the interest rate or discount, and the time or times at which payments are due. The Fund can invest in various types of debt securities generally referred to as "bonds", including corporate bonds, government bonds, convertible bonds, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, "structured" notes, participation interests in loans, "zero-coupon" or "stripped" securities and other debt obligations.

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest in securities of issuers located in at least three different countries (one of which may be the United States) and will invest at least 30% of its net assets in securities of issuers located outside the United States. The Fund invests in corporate debt securities of issuers in a number of countries, which may include the United States. The Fund invests in securities of issuers located in developed and emerging market countries. The Fund may invest across all fixed-income sectors, including U.S. and non-U.S. government securities. The Fund's investments may be denominated in local currency or U.S. dollar-denominated. The Fund may invest in debt securities with a range of maturities from short- to long-term.

The Fund does not limit its investments to a particular credit or ratings category and can invest up to 35% of its net assets in securities rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bonds"). "Investment grade" debt securities are rated in one of the highest four categories by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations such as Moody's or Standard & Poor's. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities in which case the Advisor may internally assign ratings to certain of these securities, after assessing their credit quality in categories similar to those of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations.

The Fund may also invest in derivatives including, for example, options, forward contracts, futures contracts and swaps (including interest rate swaps, total return swaps, and credit default swaps). The Fund may invest in derivatives for various purposes, including hedging, to increase or decrease the Fund's exposure to a particular market, to manage or adjust the risk profile of the Fund related to an investment or currency exposure, to adjust its currency exposure relative to its benchmark index, and to earn income and enhance returns. The Fund's exposure to derivatives will vary.

In selecting securities, the portfolio managers evaluate the overall investment opportunities and risks in individual national economies. The portfolio managers analyze the business cycle, political and macro-economic factors that affect exchange rates and interest rates in both emerging markets and developing countries. In addition to considering broad economic factors, the portfolio managers apply a "bottom-up" approach in choosing investments. This means that the portfolio managers conduct fundamental research on each individual security and determine whether the security is an attractive investment opportunity based upon the risk adjusted cash flow characteristics of the security.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because they believe the portfolio securities no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities, there is perceived deterioration in the credit fundamentals of the issuer or the individual security has reached its sell target.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	5.73%	(quarter ended 9/30/2012)
Lowest	1.23%	(quarter ended 12/31/2012)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Global Bond Fund		1 Year	Since Inception	Inception Date
Class I		12.55%	12.61%	Dec. 01, 2011
Class I After taxes on distributions		10.28%	10.41%	Dec. 01, 2011
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		8.12%	9.45%	Dec. 01, 2011
Class N		12.55%	12.61%	Dec. 01, 2011
Barclays Global Aggregate Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	4.32%	4.63%	Dec. 01, 2011

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.15% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Barclays Global Aggregate Index Provides a broad-based measure of the global investment grade fixed rate debt markets. The index is not available for direct investment; therefore its performance does not reflect a reduction for fees or expenses incurred in managing a portfolio. The securities in the index may be substantially different from those in the Fund.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

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Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW International Small Cap Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

rr_RiskReturnHeading

TCW International Small Cap Fund

Objective [Heading]

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Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

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The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

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Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

rr_ShareholderFeesCaption

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recently fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 139.84% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

139.84%

Expense Example [Heading]

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Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

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This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

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Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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The Fund will invest primarily (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) in equity securities of small capitalization companies that are domiciled outside the United States or whose primary business operations are outside the United States. Small capitalization companies are companies with a market capitalization (share price multiplied by number of shares outstanding) of $6 billion or less at time of investment and the Fund is not required to sell a security if its market capitalization appreciates above $6 billion. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks; securities convertible into common or preferred stocks such as convertible bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stocks; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); Global Depository Receipts (GDRs); and other securities with equity characteristics. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of small capitalization companies. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change.

In selecting securities, the Fund's portfolio manager evaluates investment opportunities on a company-by-company basis. This approach includes fundamental analysis of a company's financial statements and management structure and consideration of the company's operations and product development as well as its position in the industry. In selecting the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager considers companies which have one or more of the following attributes:

• businesses that are entering into a growth cycle

• accelerating earnings growth or cash flow whose stock is selling at a reasonable valuation

• strong competitive position in their industry

• strong management team

• ability to take advantage of business opportunities

The portfolio manager also considers the effect of worldwide trends on the growth of particular business sectors and looks for companies that may benefit from those trends. The trends considered include but are not limited to: rising domestic demand, new technologies, a country's and a global or local industry cycle. Trends that are considered may change over time.

The Fund may invest in companies that are not currently generating cashflow, but are expected to do so in the future in the portfolio manager's opinion.

The Fund may invest in derivatives such as options, futures, foreign currency futures and forward contracts. These practices may be used to hedge the Fund's portfolio as well as for investment purposes; however, such practices may reduce returns or increase volatility.

Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio manager perceives deterioration in the fundamentals of the issuer, the portfolio manager believes negative macro geo-political considerations may affect the issuer, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity or the security has reached its perceived price target.

Risk [Heading]

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Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• foreign currency risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investments denominated in foreign currencies will decline in value because the foreign currency has declined in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company's financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment adviser primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund's share price.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• insurer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the security at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

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You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]

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• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

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Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows the Fund’s investment results from the past calendar year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to those of a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress

www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

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Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

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Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

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Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	20.29%	(quarter ended 3/31/2012)
Lowest	-13.28%	(quarter ended 6/30/2012)

Performance Table Heading

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Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

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After tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

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Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW International Small Cap Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.57%

Acquired Fund Fees

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.01%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.33%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

none

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.33%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

135

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

421

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

729

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,601

2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

14.56%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Mar. 31, 2012

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

20.29%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2012

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(13.28%)

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

14.56%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(11.22%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Feb. 28, 2011

TCW International Small Cap Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.75%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.64%

Acquired Fund Fees

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.01%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.65%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.20%

^[2]

Net Expenses

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.45%

^[2]

1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

148

3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

501

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

878

10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

1,938

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

14.41%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(11.30%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Feb. 28, 2011

TCW International Small Cap Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

12.45%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(12.21%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Feb. 28, 2011

TCW International Small Cap Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

9.61%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(9.98%)

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Feb. 28, 2011

TCW International Small Cap Fund | MSCI All Country World Index ex-U.S. Small Cap Net (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

18.52%

^[3]

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

(2.37%)

^[3]

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Feb. 28, 2011

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund's investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund's total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.44% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund's investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The MSCI All Country World Index ex-U.S. Small Cap Net is a market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity performance in 47 global developed markets and emerging markets, excluding the U.S., and is composed of stocks categorized as small company stocks.

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

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Registrant Name

dei_EntityRegistrantName

TCW FUNDS INC

Prospectus Date

rr_ProspectusDate

Feb. 28, 2013

TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Risk/Return [Heading]

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TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund

Objective [Heading]

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Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

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The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to provide long term capital appreciation.

Expense [Heading]

rr_ExpenseHeading

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

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Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment.)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

February 28, 2014

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 78.76% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

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78.76%

Expense Example [Heading]

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Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

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This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading]

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Principal Investment Strategies

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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The Fund will invest (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in equity securities issued by companies with market capitalizations, at the time of acquisition, within the capitalization range of companies comprising the Russell 2500^® Growth Index. As of December 31, 2012, the market capitalization range of companies included in the Russell 2500^® Growth Index was between $27 million and $9 billion. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. Equity securities include common and preferred stocks; securities convertible into common or preferred stocks such as convertible bonds and debentures; rights or warrants to purchase common or preferred stocks; American Depository Receipts (ADRs); and American Depository Shares (ADS).

The Fund invests primarily in issuers which are characterized as "growth" companies according to parameters established by the portfolio managers. Within these parameters, the Fund may invest in securities of foreign companies including companies in emerging or developing markets listed on a U.S. exchange, ADRs or ADS.

In managing the Fund's investments, the portfolio manager uses a "bottom up" approach to identify companies for investment. The primary focus is on companies where the portfolio manager's estimates of a company's free cash flow growth is above that implied by current Wall Street estimates and, in the portfolio manager's opinion, the security is attractively valued relative to those cash flows. Companies that make it through this screening process are then subjected to fundamental analysis which generally looks for one or more of the following factors:

• competing in a large or growing market offering the potential for increasing market share

• the ability to fund revenue and earnings growth with internally generated free cash flow and/or balance sheet cash

• a differentiated product or service

• a strong balance sheet

• a strong management team and significant ownership by management

Portfolio securities may be sold when the company fails to meet expectations, there is deterioration of underlying fundamentals, the portfolio manager concludes that the intermediate and long-term prospects for the company are poor, the portfolio manager determines to take advantage of a better investment opportunity, the individual security has reached its sell target or if an individual security weighting or sector weighting is too large.

Risk [Heading]

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Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund’s shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• equity risk: the risk that stocks and other equity securities generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline in value over short or extended periods based on changes in a company’s financial condition and in overall market, economic and political conditions.

• small and mid-capitalization company risk: the risk that the stock performance of small and mid-capitalization companies can be more volatile than the stock performance of large capitalization companies and they face a greater risk of business failure which increases the risk of loss to the Fund.

• investment style risk: the risk that the particular style or set of styles that the investment adviser primarily uses may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods and may increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund’s investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the security at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers’ choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services.

• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• emerging market country risk: the risk that Fund share prices will decline due to the greater degree of economic, political and social instability of emerging or developing countries as compared to developed countries.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

Please see “Principal Risks and Risk Definitions” for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

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You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]

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• non-diversification risk: the risk that because a relatively higher percentage of the Fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory event than a diversified fund.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

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Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Investment Results

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

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The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of lower expenses paid by the Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

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www.tcw.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

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Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results.

Bar Chart [Heading]

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Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

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Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	13.93%	(quarter ended 3/31/2012)
Lowest	-24.96%	(quarter ended 9/30/2011)

Performance Table Heading

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Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

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After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

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Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

Performance Table Narrative

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After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund | Class I

Risk/Return:

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Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

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none

Management fees

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1.00%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses

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0.36%

Total fund operating expenses

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1.36%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

0.16%

^[2]

Net Expenses

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1.20%

^[2]

1 Year

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122

3 Years

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415

5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

729

10 Years

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1,621

2011

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(9.21%)

2012

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7.99%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

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Highest

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

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Mar. 31, 2012

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

13.93%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

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Lowest

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

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Sep. 30, 2011

Lowest Quarterly Return

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(24.96%)

1 Year

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7.99%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.45%

Inception Date

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Nov. 01, 2010

TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund | Class N

Risk/Return:

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Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

rr_ShareholderFeeOther

none

Management fees

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1.00%

Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.25%

Other expenses

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

0.39%

Total fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

1.64%

^[1]

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

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0.44%

^[2]

Net Expenses

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1.20%

^[2]

1 Year

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122

3 Years

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474

5 Years

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850

10 Years

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1,907

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

7.99%

Since Inception

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2.45%

Inception Date

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Nov. 01, 2010

TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund | After taxes on distributions | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

7.99%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.45%

Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Nov. 01, 2010

TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund | After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

5.19%

Since Inception

rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception

2.09%

Inception Date

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Nov. 01, 2010

TCW SMID Cap Growth Fund | Russell 2500® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

16.13%

^[3]

Since Inception

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11.95%

^[3]

Inception Date

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Nov. 01, 2010

^[3]

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 1.20% of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[3] The Russell 2500® Growth Index measures the performance of small to mid-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe and includes those Russell 2500® Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

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TCW Total Return Bond Fund

TCW Total Return Bond Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek to maximize current income and achieve above average total return consistent with prudent investment management over a full market cycle.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees TCW Total Return Bond Fund (USD $)	Class I	Class N
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)	none	none

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses TCW Total Return Bond Fund		Class I	Class N
Management fees		0.50%	0.50%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees		none	0.25%
Other expenses		0.07%	0.09%
Total fund operating expenses	[1]	0.57%	0.84%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement	[2]	0.13%	0.10%
Net Expenses	[2]	0.44%	0.74%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example TCW Total Return Bond Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	45	170	305	701
Class N	76	258	456	1,028

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 123.43% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests (except when maintaining a temporary defensive position) at least 80% of the value of its net assets in debt securities. If the Fund changes this investment policy, it will notify shareholders in writing at least 60 days in advance of the change. "Debt securities" include bonds, notes and other fixed income instruments issued by governmental or private sector issuers. The Fund may invest in securitized obligations of any maturity or type guaranteed by, or secured by collateral that is guaranteed by, the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations, and privately issued mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. At least 50% of the Fund's net assets will be invested in securitized obligations guaranteed by the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; privately issued mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities rated at time of investment Aa3 or higher by Moody's or AA- or higher by S&P or the equivalent by any other nationally recognized statistical organization; other obligations of the United States Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations; and money market instruments. The Fund may invest in privately issued securitized obligations rated below investment grade, which are commonly known as "junk bonds". Such bonds are rated below Baa3 by Moody's or BBB by S&P.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments such as options, futures and swap agreements. The Fund may invest in securities that are commonly known as mortgage derivatives, including inverse floaters, and interest only (IO), principal-only (PO), inverse IOs and tiered index bonds. The Fund may also purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

In managing the Fund's investments, under normal market conditions, the portfolio managers seek to construct an investment portfolio with a weighted average effective duration of no more than eight years. Portfolio securities may be sold when the Fund's portfolio managers determine to take advantage of a better investment opportunity because they believe the portfolio securities no longer represent relatively attractive investment opportunities.

Principal Risks

Since the Fund holds securities with fluctuating market prices, the value of the Fund's shares will vary as its portfolio securities increase or decrease in value. Therefore, the value of your investment in the Fund could go down as well as up. You can lose money by investing in the Fund.

The principal risks affecting the Fund that can cause a decline in value are:

• interest rate risk: the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates or a decline in interest rates will lower the Fund's yield.

• credit risk: the risk that an issuer will default in the payment of principal and/or interest on a security.

• price volatility risk: the risk that the value of the Fund's investment portfolio will change as the prices of its investments go up or down.

• junk bond risk: the risk that these bonds have a higher degree of default risk and may be less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than investment grade bonds.

• prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities will be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

• extension risk of mortgage-backed securities: the risk that in times of rising interest rates mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

• frequent trading risk: the risk that frequent trading will lead to increased portfolio turnover and higher transaction costs, which may detract from the Fund's performance, and may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed.

• derivatives risk: the risk of investing in derivative instruments, including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, mispricing or improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, reference rate or index and the Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.

• leveraging risk: the risk that leverage created from borrowing or certain types of transactions or instruments, including derivatives, may impair the Fund's liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase its volatility or otherwise cause it not to achieve its intended result.

• counterparty risk: the risk that the other party to a contract, such as a swap agreement, will not fulfill its contractual obligations.

• issuer risk: the risk that the value of a security may decline for reasons directly related to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's goods or services.

• liquidity risk: the risk that there may be no willing buyer of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund may have to sell those securities at a lower price or may not be able to sell the securities at all, each of which would have a negative effect on performance.

• market risk: the risk that returns from the securities in which the Fund invests will underperform returns from the general securities markets or other types of securities.

• securities selection risk: the risk that the securities held by the Fund will underperform those held by other funds investing in the same asset class or benchmarks that are representative of the asset class because of the portfolio managers' choice of securities.

• portfolio management risk: the risk that an investment strategy may fail to produce the intended results.

• globalization risk: the risk that the growing inter-relationship of all global economies and financial markets has increased the effect of conditions in one country or region on issuers of securities in a different country or region.

• foreign investing risk: the risk that Fund share prices will fluctuate with market conditions, currency exchange rates and the economic and political climates in countries where the Fund invests.

• asset-backed securities investment risk: the risk that the impairment of the value of the collateral underlying a security in which the Fund invests such as non-payment of loans, will result in a reduction in the value of the security.

• defaulted securities risk: the risk of the uncertainty of repayment of defaulted securities and obligations of distressed issuers.

Please see "Principal Risks and Risk Definitions" for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Your investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency entity or person.

Investment Results

The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year and the table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for various periods compare with a broad measure of market performance. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class I shares. Class N performance would be lower than Class I performance because of the lower expenses paid by Class I shares. Past results (before and after taxes) are not predictive of future results. Updated information on the Fund’s investment results can be obtained by visiting www.tcw.com.

Calendar Year Total Returns

For Class I Shares

Highest/Lowest quarterly results during this period were:

Highest	8.21%	(quarter ended 9/30/2009)
Lowest	-2.01%	(quarter ended 6/30/2004)

Average Annual Total Returns

(For the period ended December 31, 2012)

Average Annual Total Returns TCW Total Return Bond Fund		1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I		13.41%	9.65%	7.14%
Class I After taxes on distributions		11.04%	6.79%	4.79%
Class I After taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares		8.64%	6.58%	4.71%
Class N		13.05%	9.34%	6.82%
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	[1]	4.21%	5.95%	5.18%

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal income tax rates in effect each year and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns depend on your individual tax situation and likely will differ from the results shown above, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account (IRA).

[1] annual

[2] The Fund’s investment advisor has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to limit the Fund’s total annual operating expenses (excluding interest and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any) to 0.44% with respect to Class I shares and 0.74% with respect to Class N shares of average daily net assets. This contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement is for the period March 1, 2013 through February 28, 2014. At the conclusion of this period, the Fund’s investment advisor, in its sole discretion, may extend, terminate or otherwise modify the contractual fee waiver/expense reimbursement.

[1] The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of investment grade fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, with maturities of at least one year.