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Label Element Value
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Document Type dei_DocumentType 485BPOS
Document Period End Date dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate Jul. 08, 2011
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Central Index Key dei_EntityCentralIndexKey 0001454889
Amendment Flag dei_AmendmentFlag false
Document Creation Date dei_DocumentCreationDate Jul. 08, 2011
Document Effective Date dei_DocumentEffectiveDate Jul. 08, 2011
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Jul. 08, 2011
Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFTM
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond IndexSM. [1]
Fund fees and expenses sst1454889_FundFeesAndExpensesAbstract  
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fund fees and expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. The table does not reflect brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares.
Shareholder fees rr_ShareholderFeesAbstract  
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder fees rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Annual fund operating expenses rr_OperatingExpensesAbstract  
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.10%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets none
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.10%
Example rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionAbstract  
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those time periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund’s total annual operating expenses remain the same. This example does not reflect any brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
Expense Example by, Year, Caption [Text] rr_ExpenseExampleByYearCaption Expenses on a $10,000 investment
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 10
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 32
Portfolio turnover sst1454889_PortfolioTurnoverAltAbstract  
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio turnover
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 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 the total annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. The fund is new and therefore does not have a historical portfolio turnover rate.
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal investment strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in securities that are included in the index. The index is a broad based benchmark measuring the performance of the U.S. investment grade, taxable bond market, including U.S. Treasuries, government-related and corporate bonds, mortgage pass-through securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities that are publicly available for sale in the United States. To be eligible for inclusion in the index, securities must be fixed rate, non-convertible, U.S. dollar denominated with at least $250 million or more of outstanding face value and have one or more years remaining to maturity. The index excludes certain types of securities, including state and local government series bonds, structured notes embedded with swaps or other special features, private placements, floating rate securities, inflation linked bonds and Eurobonds. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of June 1, 2011, there were approximately 8,000 securities in the index.

It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in securities included in the index, including TBA Transactions, as defined below. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index. The principal types of these investments include those that the adviser believes will help the fund track the index, such as investments in (a) securities that are not represented in the index but the adviser anticipates will be added to the index; (b) high-quality liquid short-term investments, such as securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including obligations that are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, and obligations that are issued by private issuers that are guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, (c) investment companies, including money market funds, and (d) derivatives, principally futures contracts. The fund may use futures contracts and other derivatives primarily to help manage interest rate exposure. The fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents and lend its securities to minimize the difference in performance that naturally exists between an index fund and its corresponding index.

Because it is not possible or practical to purchase all of the securities in the index, the fund’s investment adviser will seek to track the total return of the index by using statistical sampling techniques. These techniques involve investing in a limited number of index securities that, when taken together, are expected to perform similarly to the index as a whole. These techniques are based on a variety of factors, including interest rate and yield curve risk, maturity exposures, industry, sector and issuer weights, credit quality, and other risk factors and characteristics. The fund expects that its portfolio will hold less than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the fund’s investment objective. The fund generally expects that its weighted average effective duration will closely correspond to the weighted average effective duration of the index.

As of June 1, 2011 approximately 33% of the bonds represented in the index were U.S. fixed-rate agency mortgage pass-through securities. U.S. fixed rate agency mortgage pass-through securities are securities issued by entities such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) that are backed by pools of mortgages. Most transactions in fixed-rate mortgage pass-through securities occur through standardized contracts for future delivery in which the exact mortgage pools to be delivered are not specified until a few days prior to settlement, and are often referred to as “to be announced transactions” or “TBA Transactions”. In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. The actual pools delivered generally are determined two days prior to settlement date; however, it is not anticipated that the fund will receive the pools, but will instead participate in rolling TBA transactions. The fund anticipates that it may enter into such contracts on a regular basis. The fund, pending settlement of such contracts, will invest its assets in high-quality liquid short-term instruments, including Treasury securities and shares of money market mutual funds. The fund will assume its pro rata share of the fees and expenses of any money market fund that it may invest in, in addition to the fund’s own fees and expenses.

The fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry, group of industries or sector to approximately the same extent that its index is so concentrated. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

The adviser seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the fund’s performance and that of its index, before fees and expenses, of 95% or better. However, there can be no guarantee that the fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with the index. A number of factors may affect the fund’s ability to achieve a high correlation with its index, including the degree to which the fund uses a sampling technique. The correlation between the performance of the fund and its index may also diverge due to transaction costs, asset valuations, timing variances, and differences between the fund’s portfolio and the index resulting from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the fund but not to the index.

Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text] rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in securities included in the index, including TBA Transactions, as defined below. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The fund’s principal risks include:

Market Risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.

Investment Style Risk. The fund is not actively managed. Therefore, the fund follows the securities included in the index during upturns as well as downturns. Because of its indexing strategy, the fund does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. In addition, because of the fund’s expenses, the fund’s total return is normally below that of the index.

Interest Rate Risk. Interest rates will rise and fall over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the fund’s yield and total return also may be low. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.

Credit Risk. The fund is subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment could cause the fund to lose money or underperform. The fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a portfolio investment fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations. The negative perceptions of an issuer’s ability to make such payments could also cause the price of that investment to decline. The credit quality of the fund’s portfolio holdings can change rapidly in certain market environments and any default on the part of a single portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall. Certain of the U.S. government securities in which the fund may invest are issued by government-sponsored entities and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, which means they are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury. If the government-sponsored entity is unable to meet its obligations it could adversely impact the fund’s share price or yield.

Sampling Index Tracking Risk. The fund will not fully replicate the index and may hold securities not included in the index. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that the adviser’s investment management strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results. Because the fund uses a sampling approach, it may not track the return of the index as well as it would if the fund purchased all of the securities in the index.

Tracking Error Risk. As an index fund, the fund seeks to track the performance of its benchmark index, although it may not be successful in doing so. The divergence between the performance of the fund and its benchmark index, positive or negative, is called “tracking error”. Tracking error can be caused by many factors and it may be significant.

Prepayment and Extension Risk. Certain of the fund’s investments are subject to the risk that the securities may be paid off earlier or later than expected. Either situation could cause the fund to hold securities paying lower-than-market rates of interest, which could hurt the fund’s yield or share price.

Non-U.S. Issuer Risk. The fund may invest in U.S.-registered, dollar-denominated bonds of non-U.S. corporations, governments, agencies and supra-national entities to the extent such bonds are included in the fund’s index. The fund’s investments in bonds of non-U.S. issuers may involve certain risks that are greater than those associated with investments in securities of U.S. issuers. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions; differing accounting, auditing, financial reporting and legal standards and practices; differing securities market structures; and higher transaction costs. These risks may be heightened in connection with bonds issued by non-U.S. corporations and entities in emerging markets.

Derivatives Risk. The fund’s use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments and could cause the fund to lose more than the principal amount invested. In addition, investments in derivatives may involve leverage, which means a small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a disproportionately larger impact on the fund.

Mortgage-Backed and Mortgage Pass-Through Securities Risk. Certain of the mortgage-backed securities in which the fund may invest are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and there can be no assurance that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities where it was not obligated to do so. Mortgage-backed securities tend to increase in value less than other debt securities when interest rates decline, but are subject to similar risk of decline in market value during periods of rising interest rates. Because of prepayment and extension risk, mortgage-backed securities react differently to changes in interest rates than other bonds. Small movements in interest rates — both increases and decreases — may quickly and significantly affect the value of certain mortgage-backed securities. Transactions in mortgage pass-through securities primarily occur through TBA transactions, as described in the “Principal investment strategies” section above. Default by or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a TBA Transaction would expose the fund to possible losses because of an adverse market action, expenses, or delays in connection with the purchase or sale of the pools of mortgage pass-through securities specified in the TBA Transaction.

Liquidity Risk. A particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell. The fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price.

Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recovery of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent.

Concentration Risk. To the extent that the fund’s or the index’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class, the fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class.

Market Trading Risk. Although fund shares are listed on national securities exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained. If an active market is not maintained, investors may find it difficult to buy or sell fund shares.

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the fund will approximate the fund’s net asset value (NAV), there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. You may pay more than NAV when you buy shares of the fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.

Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.

For more information on the risks of investing in the fund please see the “Fund details” section in the prospectus.

Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Performance sst1454889_FundPastPerformanceAbstract  
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history. Once the fund has completed a full calendar year of operations a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing the variability of the fund’s returns and comparing the fund’s performance to the index.
Performance One Year or Less [Text] rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess The fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns Once the fund has completed a full calendar year of operations a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing the variability of the fund’s returns and comparing the fund’s performance to the index.
[1] Index ownership - Barclays Capital Inc. 2011. All rights reserved. The Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in shares of the fund.