Restructuring Charges and Other Costs Associated with Acquisitions and Cost-Reduction/Productivity Initiatives - Footnotes (Details) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
		Oct. 02, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 27, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2016 USD ($) Employee	Sep. 27, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring and related cost, expected number of positions eliminated (in number of employees) | Employee				2,100
Restructuring charges	[1]	$ 404	$ 469	$ 574	$ 555
Impairment of intangible assets		126	163	767	163
Corporate [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges		67	104	107	127
IH [Member] | Operating Segments [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges		148	9	162	55
Impairment of intangible assets		29	20		20
EH [Member] | Operating Segments [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges		28	280	19	288
Impairment of intangible assets		97	143	738	143
WRD, GPD & Medical [Member] | Segment Reconciling Items [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges		52	50	104	66
Manufacturing operations [Member] | Segment Reconciling Items [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring charges		$ 108	26	$ 181	18
Hospira [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Write off of prepaid amounts			25		25
Payments for the return of acquired rights			20		20
Hospira [Member] | Return of Acquired Rights [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring cost incurred			205		205	$ 215
In Process Research and Development [Member] | Hospira [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Impairment of intangible assets			$ 160		$ 160

[1] In the nine months ended October 2, 2016, Employee terminations represent the expected reduction of the workforce by approximately 2,100 employees, mainly in manufacturing, sales, research and corporate. Employee termination costs are generally recorded when the actions are probable and estimable and include accrued severance benefits, pension and postretirement benefits, many of which may be paid out during periods after termination.The restructuring charges for 2016 are associated with the following:•For the third quarter of 2016, the IH segment ($148 million); the EH segment ($28 million); WRD, GPD and Medical (M) (WRD/GPD/M) ($52 million); manufacturing operations ($108 million); and Corporate ($67 million).•For the first nine months of 2016, IH ($162 million); EH ($19 million); WRD/GPD/M ($104 million); manufacturing operations ($181 million); and Corporate ($107 million).The restructuring charges for 2015 are associated with the following:•For the third quarter of 2015, IH ($9 million); EH ($280 million); WRD/GPD/M ($50 million); manufacturing operations ($26 million); and Corporate ($104 million).•For the first nine months of 2015, IH ($55 million); EH ($288 million); WRD/GPD/M ($66 million); manufacturing operations ($18 million); and Corporate ($127 million).In September 2015, in order to eliminate certain redundancies in Pfizer’s biosimilar drug products pipeline created as a result of the acquisition of Hospira, Pfizer opted to return rights to Celltrion that Hospira had previously acquired to potential biosimilars to Rituxan® (rituximab) and Herceptin® (trastuzumab). As such, upon return of the acquired rights, in the third quarter and first nine months of 2015, we incurred charges of $205 million, which are comprised of (i) a write-off of the applicable IPR&D assets, totaling $160 million, which is included in Asset impairments; (ii) a write-off of amounts prepaid to Celltrion in the amount of $25 million, which is included in Asset impairments; and (iii) a payment to Celltrion of $20 million, which is included in Exit costs.