Current provisions and other current liabilities (Details) - EUR (€)	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Miscellaneous current liabilities
Variable payments outstanding for acquisitions	€ 135,161,000	€ 172,278,000

The amount of current variable payments outstanding for acquisitions.

No definition available.

Name:	fms_CurrentVariablePaymentsOutstandingForAcquisitions
Namespace Prefix:	fms_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant