Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Feb. 18, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Entity Registrant Name	Hatteras Financial Corp
Entity Central Index Key	0001419521
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		77,154,404
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	No
Entity Public Float			$ 2,119,835,021
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes