Segment, Geographic and Other Revenue Information - Revenues By Products (Parenthetical) (Detail) (Lipitor [Member], USD $) In Billions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Loss in revenue in comparison with 2011	$ 1.9	$ 4.2
United States [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Exclusivity expiration date		Nov. 30, 2011

The reduction in revenue due to the loss of exclusivity of marketing right for a drug.

No definition available.

Name:	pfe_ReductionInRevenuesDueToLossOfExclusivity
Namespace Prefix:	pfe_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration