Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017 shares
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity registrant name	BECTON DICKINSON & CO
Trading symbol	BDX
Entity central index key	0000010795
Current fiscal year end date	--09-30
Entity filer category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document type	10-Q
Document period end date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document fiscal year focus	2018
Document fiscal period focus	Q1
Amendment flag	false
Entity common stock, shares outstanding (shares)	266,242,472