Danisco Acquisition (Details) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 Danisco [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Danisco [Member] DKK	Dec. 31, 2010 Danisco [Member] USD ($)	May 19, 2011 Danisco [Member] USD ($)		May 19, 2011 Industrial Biosciences [Member] USD ($)	May 19, 2011 Nutrition and Health [Member] USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Public tender offer cash price per share		665
Increased Offer Price Per Share		700
Percentage of voting interests acquired				92.20%
Danisco acquisition value	$ 6,417
Net debt assumed	617
Transaction related costs	85
Business combination revenue of acquiree since acquisition date, actual	1,713
Business combination earnings or loss of acquiree since acquisition date, actual	(7)
Interest expense, debt, net of tax	30
Interest expense, debt, before tax	39
Business combination acquisition inventory step-up value portion expensed (after-tax)	125
Business combination acquisition inventory step-up value portion expensed (pre-tax)	175
Unaudited pro forma summary
Net sales	39,182		34,203
Net income attributable to DuPont	3,724		2,942
Fair value of assets acquired
Cash and cash equivalents				48
Accounts and notes receivable				522	[1]
Inventories				709	[2]
Property, plant and equipment				1,709
Goodwill				2,891	[3]	900	2,000
Other intangible assets				2,859	[4]
Other current and non-current assets				78
Total assets acquired				8,816
Fair value of liabilities assumed
Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities				489
Short-term borrowings				342	[5]
Long-term borrowings				323	[5]
Other liabilities				219
Deferred income taxes				1,026	[6]
Total liabilities assumed				2,399
Gross amount of accounts and notes receivable acquired				531
Expected uncollectible, accounts and notes receivable acquired				9
Inventory step-up				175
Indefinite lived intangible assets acquired				$ 1,002

[1] The gross amount of accounts and notes receivable acquired was $531, of which $9 was expected to be uncollectible.

[2] The fair value of inventories acquired included a step-up in the value of $175, which was expensed to cost of goods sold and other operating charges in 2011.

[3] Goodwill will not be deductible for statutory tax purposes. Goodwill is attributable to Danisco's workforce and the synergies in technology, operations and market access that are expected from the acquisition. Approximately $900 and $2,000 of goodwill was allocated to the Industrial Biosciences and Nutrition & Health segments, respectively.

[4] Other intangible assets acquired of $1,002 are indefinite-lived (see Note 10).

[5] Debt assumed has been paid off as of December 31, 2011.

[6] The deferred income tax liabilities assumed represent the adjustments for the tax impact of fair value adjustments, primarily relating to definite-lived intangible assets.