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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 NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector 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 NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector 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 NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector 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 21% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 21.00%
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 0.60% 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 and depositary receipts 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 Nasdaq, Inc. (the "Index Provider").

The Index is an equal-weighted index composed of the securities comprising the Nasdaq-100 Index® that are classified as "technology" according to the Industry Classification Benchmark ("ICB") classification system. The Nasdaq-100 Index® includes 100 of the largest U.S. and international non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq based on market capitalization. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a security must meet the following criteria: (i) the issuer of the security's primary U.S. listing must be exclusively listed on Nasdaq (unless the security was dually listed on another U.S. market prior to January 1, 2004 and has continuously maintained such listing); (ii) the security must be issued by a non-financial company; (iii) the security must have an average daily trading volume of at least 200,000 shares over the previous three months; and (iv) if the issuer of the security is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction outside the United States, then such security must have listed options on a recognized options market in the United States or be eligible for listed-options trading on a recognized options market in the United States. Once selected for inclusion in the Index, in addition to the criteria set forth above, the issuer of a security must have an adjusted market capitalization equal to or exceeding 0.10% of the aggregate adjusted market capitalization of the Nasdaq-100 Index® at each month-end in order to remain eligible for inclusion in the Index. In the event a company does not meet this criterion for two consecutive month-ends, it will be removed from the Index. The Index may contain securities issued by mid and large capitalization companies.

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 39 securities and the Fund had significant investments in information technology 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.

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.

DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS RISK. Depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

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.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES RISK. Information technology companies produce and provide hardware, software and information technology systems and services. These companies may be adversely affected by rapidly changing technologies, short product life cycles, fierce competition, aggressive pricing and reduced profit margins, the loss of patent, copyright and trademark protections, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. In addition, information technology companies are particularly vulnerable to federal, state and local government regulation, and competition and consolidation, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies also heavily rely on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights.

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.

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.

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANIES RISK. Semiconductor companies are primarily involved in the design, distribution, manufacture and sale of semiconductors. Semiconductor companies are significantly affected by rapid obsolescence, intense competition and global demand. The Fund is also subject to the risk that the securities of such issuers will underperform the market as a whole due to legislative or regulatory changes. The prices of the securities of semiconductor companies may fluctuate widely in response to such events.

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, a broad-based market index and a 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 NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector 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
22.52% June 30, 2009 -15.89% September 30, 2011

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 NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund | First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector 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 0.40%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.17%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.57%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets none [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.57%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 $ 58
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 183
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 318
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 714
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 79.89%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 21.92%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (5.75%)
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 8.02%
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 38.12%
2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 24.83%
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (1.37%)
2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 25.27%
2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 37.86%
2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (4.70%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 22.52%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (15.89%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.70%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.17%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 20.11%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.80%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 19, 2006
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund | After tax on distributions | First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (5.03%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.63%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 19.72%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.51%
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund | After tax on distributions and sale of fund shares | First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.77%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 11.93%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 17.20%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 8.96%
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund | NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index(SM) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.14%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.89%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 20.87%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 11.49%
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector 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 7.49%
First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund | S&P 500 Information Technology Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (0.29%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 14.93%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 18.36%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.79%
[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 0.60% 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.