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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate May 01, 2012
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName AXA PREMIER VIP TRUST
Multimanager Small Cap Value Portfolio
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading

MULTIMANAGER SMALL CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO – CLASS A, B AND K Shares
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective:
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock Seeks to achieve long-term growth of capital with an emphasis on risk-adjusted returns and managing volatility in the Portfolio.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE PORTFOLIO
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock The following table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses associated with variable life insurance contracts and variable annuity certificates and contracts (“Contracts”), which would increase overall fees and expenses. See the Contract prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Portfolio 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 Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 63% of the average value of the Portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 63.00%
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent Expenses have been restated to reflect current fees.
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 Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of these periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. This Example does not reflect any Contract-related fees and expenses, including redemption fees (if any) at the Contract level. If such fees and expenses were reflected, the total expenses would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading INVESTMENTS, RISKS, AND PERFORMANCE

Principal Investment Strategies of the Portfolio
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio intends to invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of U.S. small-capitalization companies. This policy may not be changed without providing at least sixty days’ written notice to the Portfolio’s shareholders. For purposes of this Portfolio, small-capitalization companies are companies with market capitalization within the range of the Russell 2000 Index at the time of investment (market capitalization range of approximately $23.4 million to $3.7 billion as of December 31, 2011). In addition, securities of small-capitalization companies may include financial instruments that derive their value from the securities of such companies. The size of companies in the Russell 2000 Index changes with market conditions, which can result in changes to the market capitalization range of companies in the Index. The Portfolio intends to invest primarily in common stocks, but it may also invest in other securities that the sub-advisers believe provide opportunities for capital growth.

AXA Equitable Funds Management Group, LLC (“FMG LLC” or “Manager”) will generally allocate the Portfolio’s assets among three or more sub-advisers, each of which will manage its portion of the Portfolio using different yet complementary investment strategies. Under normal circumstances, one portion of the Portfolio will track the performance of a particular index (“Index Allocated Portion”) and the other portions of the Portfolio will be actively managed (“Active Allocated Portions”). Under normal circumstances, the Manager anticipates allocating approximately 50% of the Portfolio’s net assets to the Index Allocated Portion and the remaining 50% of net assets among the Active Allocated Portions. These percentages are targets established by the Manager and actual allocations between the portions may deviate from these targets by up to 20% of the Portfolio’s net assets.

The Manager has been granted relief by the Securities and Exchange Commission to hire, terminate and replace sub-advisers and amend subadvisory agreements subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees and without obtaining shareholder approval. However, the Manager may not enter into a subadvisory agreement on behalf of the Portfolio with an “affiliated person” of the Manager, such as AllianceBernstein L.P., unless the subadvisory agreement is approved by the Portfolio’s shareholders. The Manager is responsible for overseeing sub-advisers and recommending their hiring, termination and replacement to the Board of Trustees.

The Index Allocated Portion of the Portfolio seeks to track the performance (before fees and expenses) of the Russell 2000 Value Index with minimal tracking error. This strategy is commonly referred to as an indexing strategy. Generally, the Index Allocated Portion uses a full replication technique, although in certain instances a sampling approach may be utilized for a portion of the Index Allocated Portion. The Index Allocated Portion also may invest in other instruments, such as futures and options contracts, that provide comparable exposure as the index without buying the underlying securities comprising the index.

The Manager also may utilize futures and options, such as exchange-traded futures and options contracts on securities indices, to manage equity exposure. Futures and options can provide exposure to the performance of a securities index without buying the underlying securities comprising the index. They also provide a means to manage the Portfolio’s equity exposure without having to buy or sell securities. When market volatility is increasing above specific thresholds set for the Portfolio, the Manager may limit equity exposure either by reducing investments in securities, shorting or selling long futures and options positions on an index, increasing cash levels, and/or shorting an index. During such times, the Portfolio’s exposure to equity securities may be significantly less than that of a traditional equity portfolio. Although these actions are intended to reduce the overall risk of investing in the Portfolio, they may result in periods of underperformance. The Portfolio may invest up to 25% of its assets in derivatives. It is anticipated that the Portfolio’s derivative instruments will consist primarily of exchange-traded futures and options contracts on securities indices, but the Portfolio also may utilize other types of derivatives. The Portfolio’s investments in derivatives may be deemed to involve the use of leverage because the Portfolio is not required to invest the full market value of the contract upon entering into the contract but participates in gains and losses on the full contract price. The use of derivatives also may be deemed to involve the use of leverage because the heightened price sensitivity of some derivatives to market changes may magnify the Portfolio’s gain or loss. It is not generally expected, however, that the Portfolio will be leveraged by borrowing money for investment purposes. In addition, the Portfolio generally does not intend to use leverage to increase its net investment exposure above approximately 100% of the Portfolio’s net asset value or below 0%. The Portfolio may maintain a significant percentage of its assets in cash and cash equivalent instruments, some of which may serve as margin or collateral for the Portfolio’s obligations under derivative transactions.

Each Active Allocated Portion utilizes a value-oriented investment style and invests primarily in equity securities of companies that, in the view of the sub-adviser, are currently under-priced according to certain financial measurements, which may include price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios and dividend income potential. These sub-advisers may sell a security for a variety of reasons, such as because it becomes overvalued or shows deteriorating fundamentals. The Active Allocated Portions also may invest, to a limited extent (generally up to 20% of its net assets), in foreign securities, including securities of companies based in developing countries and depositary receipts of foreign based companies. The Active Allocated Portions may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve the portfolio’s investment objective.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading The Principal Risks of Investing in the Portfolio
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You may lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
  • Cash Management Risk — Upon entering into certain derivatives contracts, such as futures contracts, and to maintain open positions in certain derivatives contracts, the Portfolio may be required to post collateral for the contract, the amount of which may vary. As such, the Portfolio may maintain cash balances, or foreign currency balances which may be significant, with counterparties such as the Trust’s custodian or its affiliates. The Portfolio is thus subject to counterparty risk and credit risk with respect to these arrangements.
  • Custom Benchmark Risk — One of the benchmarks against which the Portfolio’s performance is measured, the Volatility Managed Index — Small Cap Value 2000, was created by the Manager to show how the Portfolio’s performance compares with the returns of a volatility managed index. There is no guarantee that the Portfolio will outperform this benchmark.
  • Derivatives Risk — A Portfolio’s investments in derivatives may rise or fall more rapidly than other investments. Changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and a Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested. In addition, it may be difficult or impossible for the Portfolio to purchase or sell certain derivatives in sufficient amounts to achieve the desired level of exposure, which may result in a loss or may be costly to the Portfolio. Derivatives also may be subject to certain other risks such as leveraging risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, the risk that a counterparty may be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations, and the risk of mispricing or improper valuation. Derivatives also may not behave as anticipated by the Portfolio, especially in abnormal market conditions.
  • Equity Risk — In general, stocks and other equity security values fluctuate, and sometimes widely fluctuate, in response to changes in a company’s financial condition as well as general market, economic, and political conditions.
  • Foreign Securities Risk — Investments in foreign securities, including depositary receipts, involve risks not associated with investing in U.S. securities. Foreign markets may be less liquid, more volatile and subject to less government supervision than domestic markets. Security values also may be negatively affected by changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies. Differences between U.S. and foreign legal, political and economic systems, regulatory regimes and market practices also may impact security values and it may take more time to clear and settle trades involving foreign securities.
  • Currency Risk — Investments in foreign currencies and in securities that trade in, or receive revenues in, foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Any such decline may erode or reverse any potential gains from an investment in securities denominated in foreign currency or may widen existing loss. Currency rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates, intervention by governments, central banks or supranational entities, or by the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.
  • Depositary Receipts Risk — Investments in depositary receipts (including American Depositary Receipts, European Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts) are generally subject to the same risks of investing in the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, issuers underlying unsponsored depositary receipts may not provide as much information as U.S. issuers and issuers underlying sponsored depositary receipts. Unsponsored depositary receipts also may not carry the same voting privileges as sponsored depositary receipts.
  • Emerging Markets Risk — There are greater risks involved in investing in emerging market countries and/or their securities markets. Investments in these countries and/or markets may present market, credit, currency, liquidity, legal, political, technical and other risks different from, or greater than, the risks of investing in developed countries. In addition, the risks associated with investing in a narrowly defined geographic area are generally more pronounced with respect to investments in emerging market countries.
  • Futures Contract Risk — The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by a Portfolio and the price of the futures contract; (b) liquidity risks, including the possible absence of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses (potentially unlimited) caused by unanticipated market movements; (d) an adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that a counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; (f) if a Portfolio has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Portfolio may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so; and (g) transaction costs associated with investments in futures contracts may be significant, which could cause or increase losses or reduce gains.
  • Index Strategy Risk — A Portfolio that employs an index strategy generally invests in the securities included in the relevant index or a representative sample of such securities regardless of market trends. Such a portfolio generally will not modify its index strategy to respond to changes in the economy, which means that it may be particularly susceptible to a general decline in the market segment relating to the relevant index. In addition, although the index strategy attempts to closely track its benchmark index, the Portfolio may not invest in all of the securities in the index. Also, the Portfolio’s fees and expenses will reduce the Portfolio’s returns, unlike those of the benchmark index. Cash flow into and out of the Portfolio, portfolio transaction costs, changes in the securities that comprise the index, and the Portfolio’s valuation procedures also may affect the Portfolio’s performance. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the performance of the index strategy will match that of the benchmark index.
  • Investment Style Risk — A sub-adviser may use a particular style or set of styles — in this case “value” styles — to select investments. Those styles may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods. Value stocks are subject to the risks that notwithstanding that a stock is selling at a discount to a its perceived true worth, the market will never fully recognize their intrinsic value. In addition, there is the risk that a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced.
  • Leverage Risk — When a Portfolio leverages its holdings, the value of an investment in that Portfolio will be more volatile and all other risks will tend to be compounded. For example, a Portfolio may take on leveraging risk when it engages in derivatives transactions, invests in collateral from securities loans or borrows money.
  • Portfolio Turnover Risk — High portfolio turnover (generally, turnover in excess of 100% in any given fiscal year) may result in increased transaction costs to a Portfolio, which may result in higher fund expenses and lower total return.
  • Small-Cap Company Risk — A Portfolio’s investments in small-cap companies may involve greater risks than investments in larger, more established issuers because they generally are more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments. Such companies generally have narrower product lines, more limited financial resources and more limited markets for their stock as compared with larger companies. As a result, the value of such securities may be more volatile than the securities of larger companies, and the Portfolio may experience difficulty in purchasing or selling such securities at the desired time and price or in the desired amount.
  • Short Position Risk — A Portfolio may engage in short sales and may enter into derivative contracts that have a similar economic effect (e.g., taking a short position in a futures contract). A Portfolio will incur a loss as a result of a short position if the price of the asset sold short increases in value between the date of the short position sale and the date on which an offsetting position is purchased. Short positions may be considered speculative transactions and involve special risks that could cause or increase losses or reduce gains, including greater reliance on the investment adviser’s ability to accurately anticipate the future value of a security or instrument, potentially higher transaction costs, and imperfect correlation between the actual and desired level of exposure. Because a Portfolio’s potential loss on a short position arises from increases in the value of the asset sold short, the extent of such loss, like the price of the asset sold short, is theoretically unlimited.
  • Volatility Management Risk — The Manager from time to time employs various volatility management techniques, including the use of futures and options to manage equity exposure. The success of the Portfolio’s volatility management strategy will be subject to the Manager’s ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between the performance of the relevant market index and the metrics used by the Manager to measure market volatility. Since the characteristics of many securities change as markets change or time passes, the success of the Portfolio’s volatility management strategy also will be subject to the Manager’s ability to continually recalculate, readjust, and execute volatility management techniques (such as options and futures transactions) in an efficient manner. In addition, because market conditions change, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, the success of the volatility management strategy will be subject to the Manager’s ability to execute the strategy in a timely manner. Moreover, volatility management strategies may increase portfolio transaction costs, which could cause or increase losses or reduce gains. For a variety of reasons, the Manager may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between the relevant market index and the metrics that the Manager uses to measure market volatility. In addition, it is not possible to manage volatility fully or perfectly. Any one or more of these factors may prevent the Portfolio from achieving the intended volatility management or could cause the Portfolio to underperform or experience losses.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney You may lose money by investing in the Portfolio.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Risk/Return Bar Chart and Table
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio’s average annual total returns for the past one, five and ten years through December 31, 2011 compared to the returns of a broad-based market index. The additional broad-based index shows how the Portfolio’s performance compares with the returns of a volatility-managed index. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.

The Class K shares commenced operations on August 26, 2011. The performance information shown in the table below for the Class K shares prior to that date is the performance of the Class B shares, which reflects the effect of 12b-1 fees paid by Class B shares. Class K shares do not pay 12b-1 fees.

For periods prior to the date Class A shares commenced operations (October 2, 2002), Class A share performance information shown in the table below is the performance of Class B shares, which reflects the effect of 12b-1 fees paid by Class B shares. Class A shares did not pay 12b-1 fees prior to January 1, 2012.

The performance results do not reflect any Contract-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio’s average annual total returns for the past one, five and ten years through December 31, 2011 compared to the returns of a broad-based market index.
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Calendar Year Annual Total Returns — Class B
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

 

     

Best quarter (% and time period)

  

Worst quarter (% and time period)

22.94% (2009 2nd Quarter)

  

–28.00% (2008 4th Quarter)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns
Multimanager Small Cap Value Portfolio | Class A Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) rr_MaximumAccountFee   
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.85% [1]
Distribution and/or Service Fees (12b-1 fees) rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25% [1]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.18% [1]
Total Annual Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.28% [1]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 130
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 406
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 702
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,545
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (8.79%)
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (4.06%)
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 3.30%
Multimanager Small Cap Value Portfolio | Class B Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) rr_MaximumAccountFee   
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.85%
Distribution and/or Service Fees (12b-1 fees) rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.18%
Total Annual Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.28%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 130
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 406
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 702
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,545
2002 rr_AnnualReturn2002 (13.87%)
2003 rr_AnnualReturn2003 37.42%
2004 rr_AnnualReturn2004 17.06%
2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 4.75%
2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 16.07%
2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 (9.84%)
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (37.87%)
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 26.40%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 24.48%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (9.01%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 22.94%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (28.00%)
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (9.01%)
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (4.32%)
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 3.05%
Multimanager Small Cap Value Portfolio | Class K Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) rr_MaximumAccountFee   
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.85% [2]
Distribution and/or Service Fees (12b-1 fees) rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none [2]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.18% [2]
Total Annual Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.03% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 105
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 328
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 569
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,259
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (8.88%)
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (4.29%)
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 3.07%
Russell 2000 Value Index | Multimanager Small Cap Value Portfolio
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (5.50%)
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (1.87%)
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 6.40%
Volatility Managed Index - Small Cap Value 2000 | Multimanager Small Cap Value Portfolio
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (9.34%)
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 0.89%
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 6.71%
[1] Expenses have been restated to reflect current fees.
[2] Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.