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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName iShares U.S. ETF Trust
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Mar. 01, 2017
iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading iSHARES® SHORT MATURITY
MUNICIPAL BOND ETF
Ticker: MEAR                                 Stock Exchange: BATS
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to maximize tax-free current income.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you own shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between iShares U.S. ETF Trust (the “Trust”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses, and extraordinary expenses.

You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the Example that follows:
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover.
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The Fund may pay 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 100% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 100.00%
Expense Exchange Traded Fund Commissions [Text] rr_ExpenseExchangeTradedFundCommissions You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the Example that follows:
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example.
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of owning shares of 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 sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities such that the interest on each bond is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes and the federal alternative minimum tax ("AMT"). Under normal circumstances, the Fund primarily invests in U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade short-term fixed- and floating-rate municipal securities with remaining maturities of five years or less, such as municipal bonds, municipal notes and variable rate demand obligations, as well as money market instruments and registered investment companies. Investment-grade securities are rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings and/or Fitch Ratings, Inc. ("Fitch"), or Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's"), or, if unrated, determined by the management team to be of equivalent quality. Municipal bonds include debt obligations issued by or on behalf of a governmental entity or other qualifying issuer that pay interest that is, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer at the time of issuance, generally excludable from gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest that is subject to the federal AMT. Issuers may be states, territories and possessions of the United States, including the District of Columbia, and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. BFA or its affiliates may advise the money market funds and investment companies in which the Fund may invest.

Under normal circumstances, the effective duration of the Fund's portfolio is expected to be 1.2 years or less, as calculated by the management team, and it is not expected to exceed 1.5 years. Effective duration is a measure of the Fund's price sensitivity to changes in yields or interest rates; however, investors should be aware that effective duration is not an exact measurement and may not reliably predict a particular security's price sensitivity to changes in yield or interest rates.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will also seek to maintain a weighted average maturity that is less than three years. Weighted average maturity is a U.S. dollar-weighted average of the remaining term to maturity of the underlying securities in the Fund's portfolio. For the purposes of determining the Fund's weighted average maturity, a security's final maturity date, or for amortizing securities such as asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, its weighted average life, will be used for calculation purposes.

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF") that does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. The Fund may have a higher degree of portfolio turnover than funds that seek to replicate the performance of an index.

The Fund is not a money market fund and does not seek to maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share. Please see the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") for further information.

The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the value of the collateral received).
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Summary of Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. The Fund is subject to certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value per share ("NAV"), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Unlike many ETFs, the Fund is not an index-based ETF.

Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.

Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of this prospectus (the "Prospectus")), a third party investor, the Fund's adviser or an affiliate of the Fund's adviser, or a fund may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time in order to facilitate commencement of the Fund's operations or for the Fund to achieve size or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, which could negatively impact the Fund.

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined in the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares section of the Prospectus), Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may "call" or repay the security before its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower yields, which would result in a decline in the Fund's income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund expects to effect all of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund's shares to trade in the market at greater bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund's NAV.

Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund's investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund's investments are concentrated in the securities of a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class.

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments when due or otherwise honor their obligations. Changes in an issuer's credit rating or the market's perception of an issuer's creditworthiness may also adversely affect the value of the Fund's investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on the issuer's financial condition and on the terms of the securities.

Cyber Security Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund's adviser, the Fund's distributor, and the Fund's other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund's business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the Fund's service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Extension Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, certain debt obligations may be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income and potentially in the value of the Fund's investments.

Floating Rate Notes Risk. Securities with floating or variable interest rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates, but may decline in value if their coupon rates do not reset as high, or as quickly, as comparable market interest rates, and generally carry lower yields than fixed notes of the same maturity. Although floating rate notes are less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed-rate securities, they are subject to credit risk and default risk, which could impair their value.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (considered by the Fund to mean higher than 100% annually) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities.

Income Risk. The Fund's income may decline when interest rates fall because the Fund may hold a significant portion of short duration securities and/or securities that have floating or variable interest rates. The Fund's income may decline because the Fund invests in lower yielding bonds, and as the bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, the Fund needs to purchase additional bonds.

Interest Rate Risk. An increase in interest rates may cause the value of securities held by the Fund to decline, may lead to heightened volatility in the fixed-income markets and may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income investments. The current historically low interest rate environment increases the risks associated with rising interest rates.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. This can reduce the Fund's returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices.

Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk, which is the risk that the investment process, techniques and risk analyses applied by BFA will not produce the desired results, and that securities selected by BFA may underperform the market or any relevant benchmark. In addition, legislative, regulatory, or tax developments may affect the investment techniques available to BFA in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns.

Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruptions in the creation/redemption process. Unlike some ETFs that track specific indexes, the Fund does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Index-based ETFs have generally traded at prices that closely correspond to NAV. However, ETFs that do not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index have a limited trading history and, therefore, there can be no assurance as to whether, and/or the extent to which, the Fund's shares will trade at premiums or discounts to NAV. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUND'S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV.

Municipal Securities Risk. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political or economic changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer insolvency. Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively affected by the inability to collect revenues for the project or from the assets.

Not a Money Market Fund. The Fund is not a money market fund and is not subject to the strict rules that govern the quality, maturity, liquidity and other features of securities that money market funds may purchase. Under normal circumstances, the Fund's investments may be more susceptible than a money market fund is to credit risk, interest rate risk, valuation risk and other risks relevant to the Fund's investments. The Fund does not seek to maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share.

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund's service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and BFA seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Risk of Investing in Developed Countries. The Fund's investment in developed country issuers may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. In addition, developed countries may be adversely impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens and the price or availability of certain commodities.

Risk of Investing in the United States. The Fund has significant exposure to U.S. issuers. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.

Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund.

Tax Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund's income will be exempt from U.S. federal income taxes, the federal AMT or the federal Medicare contribution tax of 3.8% on "net investment income."

Valuation Risk. The sale price the Fund could receive for a security or other asset may differ from the Fund's valuation of the security or other asset, particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. In addition, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund's portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's shares.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance Information
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Both assume that all dividends and distributions have been reinvested in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Supplemental information about the Fund’s performance is shown under the heading Total Return Information in the Supplemental Information section of the Prospectus. If BFA had not waived certain Fund fees during certain periods, the Fund's returns would have been lower. The Fund was previously subject to a contractual fee waiver, which was discontinued on February 29, 2016.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund.
Performance Availability Phone [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) (toll free)
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.iShares.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Year by Year Returns (Year Ended December 31)
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 0.41% in the 1st quarter of 2016; the worst was -0.16% in the 4th quarter of 2016.

Updated performance information is available at www.iShares.com or by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) (toll free).
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2016)
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual U.S. federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt investors or investors who hold shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs").
Performance Table Explanation after Tax Higher rr_PerformanceTableExplanationAfterTaxHigher Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sales of Fund shares are calculated assuming that an investor has sufficient capital gains of the same character from other investments to offset any capital losses from the sale of Fund shares. As a result, Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sales of Fund shares may exceed Fund returns before taxes and/or returns after taxes on distributions.
iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF | iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.25%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets none
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.25%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 26
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 80
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 141
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 318
2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 0.59%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel best
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2016
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 0.41%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel worst
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2016
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (0.16%)
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 0.59%
Since Fund Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 0.52%
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Mar. 03, 2015
iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF | Return After Taxes on Distributions | iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 0.59% [1]
Since Fund Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 0.52% [1]
iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 0.69% [1]
Since Fund Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 0.57% [1]
iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF | Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond: 1 Year (1-2) Index (Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 0.30% [2]
Since Fund Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 0.37% [2]
[1] After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual U.S. federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt investors or investors who hold shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs"). Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sales of Fund shares are calculated assuming that an investor has sufficient capital gains of the same character from other investments to offset any capital losses from the sale of Fund shares. As a result, Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sales of Fund shares may exceed Fund returns before taxes and/or returns after taxes on distributions.
[2] The Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond: 1 Year (1-2) Index is an unmanaged index comprised of national municipal bond issues having a maturity of at least one year and less than two years.