Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company
Basic EPS	$ 524	$ 600	$ 1,094	$ 1,133
Diluted EPS	$ 524	$ 600	$ 1,094	$ 1,133
Shares
Basic EPS (in shares)	883,800,000	893,900,000	884,200,000	893,800,000
Stock options and restricted stock units (in shares)	7,000,000	7,200,000	6,700,000	6,900,000
Diluted EPS (in shares)	890,800,000	901,100,000	890,900,000	900,700,000
Per Share
Basic EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 0.59	$ 0.67	$ 1.24	$ 1.27
Diluted EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 0.59	$ 0.67	$ 1.23	$ 1.26
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	5,299,933	598,857	9,051,702	356,541