Acquisitions, Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale, Research and Development and Collaborative Arrangements, Equity-Method Investments and Cost-Method Investment - Hospira Acquisition (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 03, 2015	Oct. 02, 2016	Sep. 27, 2015	Oct. 02, 2016	Sep. 27, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash payments for acquisition, net of cash acquired	[1]				$ 17,679	$ 16,322
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
Goodwill	[2]		$ 56,281		56,281		$ 48,242
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Net income (loss)	[3]		$ 1,320	$ 2,130	6,355	7,132
Hospira [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business acquisition, per share in cash (in dollars per share)		$ 90
Payments for acquisitions, cash portion		$ 16,100
Cash payments for acquisition, net of cash acquired		15,700
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
Working capital, excluding inventories		342
Inventories		1,901
PP&E		2,352
Other noncurrent assets		362
Long-term debt		(1,928)
Benefit obligations		(117)
Net income tax accounts		(3,380)
Other noncurrent liabilities		(61)
Total identifiable net assets		8,791
Goodwill		7,295
Net assets acquired/total consideration transferred		16,087
Measurement Period Adjustments
Working capital, excluding inventories	[4]				68
Inventories	[4]				(23)
Property, plant and equipment	[4]				(57)
Other noncurrent assets	[4]				(46)
Long-term debt	[4]				0
Benefit obligations	[4]				0
Net income tax accounts	[4]				14
Other noncurrent liabilities	[4]				(23)
Total identifiable net assets	[4]				(12)
Goodwill	[4]				12
Net assets acquired/total consideration transferred	[4]				0
Unrecognized tax positions		109
Tax impact of fair value adjustments		3,200
Other tax matters		719
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Revenues				12,957		38,034
Net income attributable to Pfizer Inc. common shareholders				$ 2,513		$ 7,577
Diluted EPS attributable to Pfizer Inc. common shareholders (in dollars per share)				$ 0.40		$ 1.21
Additional amortization expense				$ 70		$ 321
Depreciation expense				14		57
Interest expense				(3)		(23)
Hospira [Member] | Fair Value Adjustment to Inventory [Member]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Net income (loss)				75		66
Hospira [Member] | Eliminations [Member]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Amortization expense				9		33
Hospira [Member] | Eliminations [Member] | Acquisition-related Costs [Member]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Net income (loss)				$ 680		$ 724
Hospira [Member] | Previously Reported [Member]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
Working capital, excluding inventories		274
Inventories		1,924
PP&E		2,410
Other noncurrent assets		408
Long-term debt		(1,928)
Benefit obligations		(117)
Net income tax accounts		(3,394)
Other noncurrent liabilities		(39)
Total identifiable net assets		8,803
Goodwill		7,284
Net assets acquired/total consideration transferred		16,087
Developed Technology Rights and Other Intangible Assets [Member] | Hospira [Member]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
Identifiable intangible assets, excluding IPR&D		8,290
Measurement Period Adjustments
Identifiable intangible assets	[4]				20
Developed Technology Rights and Other Intangible Assets [Member] | Hospira [Member] | Previously Reported [Member]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
Identifiable intangible assets, excluding IPR&D		8,270
In Process Research and Development [Member] | Hospira [Member]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
IPR&D		1,030
Measurement Period Adjustments
Identifiable intangible assets	[4]				$ 35
In Process Research and Development [Member] | Hospira [Member] | Previously Reported [Member]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired, Goodwill, and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
IPR&D		$ 995

[1] Amounts may not add due to rounding.

[2] Amounts may not add due to rounding.

[3] Amounts may not add due to rounding.

[4] The changes in the estimated fair values are primarily to better reflect market participant assumptions about facts and circumstances existing as of the acquisition date. The measurement period adjustments did not result from intervening events subsequent to the acquisition date.