Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Income tax expense (benefit) related to previous periods	$ 13.0	$ (21.0)
Pre-tax operating expenses		$ 12.2

Income tax expense (benefit) related to previous periods.

No definition available.

Name:	zbh_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefitRelatedToPriorPeriods
Namespace Prefix:	zbh_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration