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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate May 01, 2019
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading <p>Summary Information</p>
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading <p>Investment Objective</p>
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (the "Fund") seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the Morningstar® Dividend Leaders IndexSM (the "Index").
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading <p>Fees and Expenses of the Fund</p>
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. Investors purchasing and selling shares may be subject to costs (including customary brokerage commissions) charged by their broker, which are not reflected in the table below.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption <p> <b>Shareholder Fees</b> <br />(fees paid directly from your investment)</p>
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption <p></p><p> <b>Annual Fund Operating Expenses</b> <br />(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</p>
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination April 30, 2020
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading <p>Portfolio Turnover</p>
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund 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 and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 39% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 39.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading <p>Example</p>
Expense Example, No Redemption Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionNarrativeTextBlock

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account customary brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain at current levels. The example assumes that the Fund's investment advisor's agreement to waive fees and/or pay the Fund's expenses to the extent necessary to prevent the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, and extraordinary expenses) from exceeding 0.45% of average daily net assets per year will be terminated following April 30, 2020. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading <p>Principal Investment Strategies</p>
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the common stocks that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Fund's investment advisor seeks a correlation of 0.95 or better (before fees and expenses) between the Fund's performance and the performance of the Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation. The Index is developed, maintained and sponsored by Morningstar, Inc. (the "Index Provider").

The Index is designed to measure the performance of the 100 highest-yielding stocks that have a consistent record of dividend payment and have the ability to sustain their dividend payments. The securities comprising the Morningstar® US Market IndexSM (the "Base Index") serve as the Fund's selection universe. The Base Index is a broad market index representing 97% of U.S. equity market capitalization. To be eligible for inclusion in the Base Index, a security must be listed on a qualifying U.S. securities exchange and be issued by a company incorporated in the United States or its territories and whose primary stock market activities are carried out in the United States. Securities issued by companies incorporated outside the United States and its territories may nonetheless be included in the Base Index if the company files a Form 10-K/10-Q or equivalents, and its primary business activities, as measured by the geographic distribution of revenue and assets, are conducted in the United States. The Base Index also excludes securities with more than 10 non-trading days in the prior quarter and those securities not ranked in the top 75% of the companies in the investable universe based on liquidity score, which is the average of a security's rank on each of the following measures: (i) average monthly trading volume in U.S. dollars during the six calendar months immediately before reconstitution or, in the case of corporate entities younger than six months, since the security was first issued; and (ii) the security's lowest two months' total trading volume during the six calendar months immediately before reconstitution (the months need not be sequential).

From this universe, the Index further excludes any securities issuing dividend payments that do not constitute qualifying income (i.e., real estate investment trusts). The Index also excludes securities issued by companies with a five-year indicated dividend per share growth of less than zero and a coverage ratio of less than one. A security's coverage ratio equals its one-year forecast of earnings per share divided by its indicated dividend per share. All remaining securities are then ranked by indicated dividend yield and the top 100 securities are selected for inclusion in the Index. The Index weights the component securities based upon an indicated dividend dollar weighted methodology. Weights are adjusted so that no individual security has a weight of greater than 10% and securities with a weight of more than 5% do not collectively exceed 50% of the entire portfolio.

The Index is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually and the Fund will make corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after the Index changes are made public. The Index's quarterly rebalance schedule may cause the Fund to experience a higher rate of portfolio turnover. The Fund will be concentrated in an industry or a group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. As of March 31, 2019, the Index was composed of 98 securities and the Fund had significant investments in consumer staples companies, although this may change from time to time. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a given jurisdiction or investment sector, the Fund may be exposed to the risks associated with that jurisdiction or investment sector.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading <p>Principal Risks</p>
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be achieved.

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT CONCENTRATION RISK. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. A limited number of institutions act as authorized participants for the Fund. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders and no other authorized participant steps forward to create or redeem, the Fund's shares may trade at a premium or discount to the Fund's net asset value and possibly face delisting.

CONCENTRATION RISK. To the extent that the Fund invests a large percentage of its assets in a single asset class or the securities of issuers within the same country, state, region, industry or sector, an adverse economic, business or political development may affect the value of the Fund's investments more than if the Fund were more broadly diversified. A concentration makes the Fund more susceptible to any single occurrence and may subject the Fund to greater market risk than a fund that is not so concentrated.

CONSUMER STAPLES COMPANIES RISK. Consumer staples companies provide products directly to the consumer that are typically considered non-discretionary items based on consumer purchasing habits. Such products include food, beverages, household items and tobacco. Companies providing these products may be affected by the regulation of various product components and production methods, new laws, regulations or litigation, marketing campaigns, competitive pricing and other factors affecting consumer demand. Changes in the worldwide economy, demographics, consumer preferences, consumer spending, exploration and production spending may adversely affect these companies, as well as natural and man-made disasters, political, social or labor unrest, world events and economic conditions.

CYBER SECURITY RISK. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund's digital information systems through "hacking" or malicious software coding but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests or the Fund's third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Although the Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.

DIVIDENDS RISK. The Fund's investment in dividend-paying securities could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of an issuer's track record of paying dividends. Companies that issue dividend-paying securities are not required to continue to pay dividends on such securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that such companies could reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends in the future.

EQUITY SECURITIES RISK. The value of the Fund's shares will fluctuate with changes in the value of the equity securities in which it invests. Equity securities prices fluctuate for several reasons, including changes in investors' perceptions of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the relevant equity market, such as market volatility, or when political or economic events affecting an issuer occur. Common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry or sector of the market.

INDEX CONSTITUENT RISK. The Fund may be a constituent of one or more indices. As a result, the Fund may be included in one or more index-tracking exchange-traded funds or mutual funds. Being a component security of such a vehicle could greatly affect the trading activity involving the Fund's shares, the size of the Fund and the market volatility of the Fund. Inclusion in an index could increase demand for the Fund and removal from an index could result in outsized selling activity in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the Fund's net asset value could be negatively impacted and the Fund's market price may be below the Fund's net asset value during certain periods. In addition, index rebalances may potentially result in increased trading activity in the Fund's shares.

INDEX PROVIDER RISK. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile the Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, maintained, constructed, reconstituted, rebalanced, composed, calculated or disseminated accurately. To correct any such error, the Index Provider may carry out an unscheduled rebalance or other modification of the Index constituents or weightings, which may increase the Fund's costs. The Index Provider does not provide any representation or warranty in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in the Index, and it does not guarantee that the Index will be calculated in accordance with its stated methodology. Losses or costs associated with any Index Provider errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

INFLATION RISK. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund's assets and distributions may decline.

MARKET MAKER RISK. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares due to a limited number of market markers. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund's portfolio securities and the Fund's market price. The Fund may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund's net asset value and the price at which the Fund's shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund's shares. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.

MARKET RISK. Market risk is the risk that a particular security, or shares of the Fund in general, may fall in value. Securities are subject to market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic, political, regulatory or market developments, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments.

NON-CORRELATION RISK. The Fund's return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and may incur costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund's portfolio holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the Fund's portfolio holdings may not exactly replicate the securities included in the Index or the ratios between the securities included in the Index.

NON-DIVERSIFICATION RISK. The Fund is classified as "non-diversified" under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). As a result, the Fund is only limited as to the percentage of its assets which may be invested in the securities of any one issuer by the diversification requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence affecting one or more of these issuers, experience increased volatility and be highly invested in certain issuers.

PASSIVE INVESTMENT RISK. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in or representative of the Index regardless of investment merit. The Fund generally will not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. In the event that the Index is no longer calculated, the Index license is terminated or the identity or character of the Index is materially changed, the Fund will seek to engage a replacement index.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK. High portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and may generate greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund's performance to be less than expected.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT RISK. The market price of the Fund's shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund's net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on the Exchange. The Fund's investment advisor cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value because the shares trade on the Exchange at market prices and not at net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares will be closely related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. However, given that shares can only be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units, and only to and from broker-dealers and large institutional investors that have entered into participation agreements (unlike shares of closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Fund's investment advisor believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of shares should not be sustained.

TRADING ISSUES RISK. Although the shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained. Further, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity and wide bid-ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading in shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange's "circuit breaker" rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund's shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund's shares or authorized participants stop submitting purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to their net asset value. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund's assets are small or the Fund does not have enough shareholders.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading <p>Annual Total Return</p>
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund's average annual total returns based on net asset value compared to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. See "Total Return Information" for additional performance information regarding the Fund. The Fund's performance information is accessible on the Fund's website at www.ftportfolios.com.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading <p>First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund<br />Calendar Year Total Returns as of 12/31 </p>
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

During the periods shown in the chart above:

Best Quarter Worst Quarter
26.37% June 30, 2009 -25.26% March 31, 2009

Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading <p>Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2018</p>
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Returns before taxes do not reflect the effects of any income or capital gains taxes. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of shares assume you sold your shares at period end, and, therefore, are also adjusted for any capital gains or losses incurred. Returns for the market indices do not include expenses, which are deducted from Fund returns, or taxes.

Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.30%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.17%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.47%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.02% [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.45%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 $ 46
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 149
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 261
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 590
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 14.24%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 16.05%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 14.44%
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 9.14%
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 22.71%
2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 12.96%
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 2.73%
2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 20.72%
2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 11.93%
2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (5.87%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 26.37%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2009
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (25.26%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (5.87%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 8.10%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 11.61%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 6.39%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Mar. 09, 2006
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | After tax on distributions | First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (7.31%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 6.52%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 10.02%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 4.86%
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | After tax on distributions and sale of fund shares | First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (3.45%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 5.59%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.74%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 4.34%
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | Morningstar® Dividend Leaders Index(SM) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (5.47%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 8.62%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 12.17%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 6.91%
First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.38%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 8.49%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 13.12%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 7.68%
[1] First Trust Advisors L.P., the Fund's investment advisor, has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses to the extent that the operating expenses of the Fund (excluding interest expense, brokerage commissions and other trading expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) exceed 0.45% of its average daily net assets per year (the "Expense Cap") at least through April 30, 2020. Expenses reimbursed and fees waived under such agreement are subject to recovery by the Fund's investment advisor for up to three years from the date the fee was waived or expense was incurred, but no reimbursement payment will be made by the Fund if it results in the Fund exceeding (i) the applicable expense limitation in place for the most recent fiscal year for which such expense limitation was in place, (ii) the applicable expense limitation in place at the time the fees were waived, or (iii) the current expense limitation. The agreement may be terminated by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, at any time and by the Fund's investment advisor only after April 30, 2020 upon 60 days' written notice.