Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Feb. 14, 2012 Common Class A [Member]	Feb. 14, 2012 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	BIO RAD LABORATORIES INC
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000012208
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			23,043,332	5,156,587
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Public Float		$ 3,341,761,932