Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015		Sep. 30, 2015		Jun. 30, 2015		Mar. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2014		Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Quarterly Financial Data [Abstract]
Sales	$ 1,287,700		$ 1,096,500		$ 1,162,200		$ 1,014,600		$ 1,381,400		$ 1,204,000		$ 1,224,400		$ 1,068,100		$ 4,561,030	$ 4,877,885	$ 4,954,619
Gross profit	397,700		388,800		369,100		331,700		485,700		421,500		430,300		377,100		1,487,318	1,714,617	1,688,095
Earnings before income taxes	109,800		146,600		107,600		58,200		227,300		183,300		176,000		146,600		422,196	733,190	693,021
Net earnings attributable to Flowserve Corporation	$ 71,400		$ 93,600		$ 75,000		$ 27,700		$ 159,000		$ 128,600		$ 123,500		$ 107,700		$ 267,669	$ 518,824	$ 485,530
Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.55	[1]	$ 0.71	[1]	$ 0.56	[1]	$ 0.21	[1]	$ 1.17	[1]	$ 0.94	[1]	$ 0.90	[1]	$ 0.78	[1]	$ 2.01	$ 3.79	$ 3.43
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.54	[1]	$ 0.70	[1]	$ 0.56	[1]	$ 0.20	[1]	$ 1.16	[1]	$ 0.93	[1]	$ 0.90	[1]	$ 0.78	[1]	$ 2.00	$ 3.76	$ 3.41
Realignment charges, net of adjustments																	$ 52,400
Broad Based Annual Incentive Compensation																	$ 31,500

[1] Earnings per share is computed independently for each of the quarters presented. The sum of the quarters may not equal the total year amount due to the impact of changes in weighted average quarterly shares outstanding.