Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net Sales	$ 1,836.7	$ 1,813.1	$ 5,861.9	$ 5,735.0
Type of Revenue [Extensible List]	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember
Cost of products sold, excluding intangible asset amortization	$ 529.0	$ 500.9	$ 1,688.5	$ 1,541.5
Type of Cost, Good or Service [Extensible List]	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember	us-gaap:ProductMember
Intangible asset amortization	$ 147.6	$ 152.7	$ 447.9	$ 452.4
Research and development	95.7	91.2	290.5	274.9
Selling, general and administrative	787.7	711.7	2,380.7	2,239.6
Goodwill and intangible asset impairment	3.8	32.7	3.8	59.5
Acquisition, integration and related	17.4	61.6	113.9	192.3
Quality remediation	32.2	51.1	112.3	135.4
Operating expenses	1,613.4	1,601.9	5,037.6	4,895.6
Operating Profit	223.3	211.2	824.3	839.4
Other expense, net	(2.2)	(2.3)	(8.7)	(4.5)
Interest income	0.8	0.6	2.3	1.4
Interest expense	(68.3)	(82.3)	(223.1)	(247.5)
Earnings before income taxes	153.6	127.2	594.8	588.8
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	(8.5)	28.4	71.6	6.6
Net Earnings	162.1	98.8	523.2	582.2
Less: Net (loss) earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest	(0.1)		1.3	(0.2)
Net Earnings of Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.	$ 162.2	$ 98.8	$ 521.9	$ 582.4
Earnings Per Common Share
Basic	$ 0.80	$ 0.49	$ 2.57	$ 2.89
Diluted	$ 0.79	$ 0.48	$ 2.55	$ 2.86
Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding
Basic	203.7	202.3	203.3	201.7
Diluted	205.4	204.0	204.9	203.6
Cash Dividends Declared Per Common Share	$ 0.24	$ 0.24	$ 0.72	$ 0.72