Segment, Geographic and Other Revenue Information - Revenues By Products (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Oct. 02, 2016	Sep. 27, 2015	Oct. 02, 2016	Sep. 27, 2015
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[1],[2],[3]	$ 13,045	$ 12,087	$ 39,196	$ 34,804
Innovative Health and Essential Health [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		13,045	12,087	39,196	34,804
Innovative Health and Essential Health [Member] | Lyrica [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[4]	1,240	1,220	3,730	3,626
Innovative Health and Essential Health [Member] | Viagra [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[5]	387	430	1,183	1,274
Innovative Health and Essential Health [Member] | Alliance revenues [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		419	349	1,155	881
Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[6]	7,332	6,752	21,471	19,120
Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[7]	5,712	5,335	17,725	15,683
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[8]	2,708	2,919	8,373	8,701
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Lipitor [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		422	454	1,294	1,404
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Premarin family [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		244	263	751	753
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Norvasc [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		238	241	714	744
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Epi Pen [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		110	107	300	268
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Xalatan Xalacom [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		91	98	273	299
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Relpax [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		83	91	248	254
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Zoloft [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		72	95	228	274
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Effexor [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		70	66	207	213
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Zithromax / Zmax [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[9]	56	63	203	203
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Xanax/Xanax XR [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		55	55	163	164
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Cardura [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		49	52	143	158
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Neurontin [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		45	45	136	148
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Tikosyn [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		20	44	136	123
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Depo-Provera [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		36	45	103	133
Legacy Established Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Other Legacy Established Products [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		1,119	1,199	3,473	3,563
Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[10]	1,461	957	4,481	2,436
Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Medrol [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		102	98	330	284
Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Sulperazon [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		102	72	304	251
Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Fragmin [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		80	84	240	246
Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Tygacil [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		69	81	203	231
Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | All Other Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		1,108	621	3,405	1,424
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[11]	1,023	1,229	3,224	4,073
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Lyrica [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[4]	191	273	623	925
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Viagra [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[5]	89	97	286	318
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Celebrex [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		194	212	550	640
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Pristiq [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		174	185	546	523
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Vfend [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		140	165	459	510
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Zyvox [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		94	165	334	696
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | Revatio [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		73	53	213	181
Peri-LOE Products [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member] | All Other Peri-LOE Products [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		68	79	214	280
Infusion Systems [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[12]	281	94	879	94
Biosimilars [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[13]	83	0	228	0
CentreOne [Member] | Essential Health Business [Member] | EH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[14]	156	136	540	380
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		2,243	1,954	6,557	5,500
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Lyrica [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[4]	1,049	947	3,107	2,701
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Viagra [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[5]	297	333	897	955
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Chantix / Champix [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		198	159	631	491
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Toviaz [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		60	59	191	193
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | B M P 2 [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		63	57	175	169
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Alliance revenues [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[15]	417	343	1,139	841
Internal Medicine [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | All Other Internal Medicine [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues	[16]	159	56	416	149
Vaccines [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		1,641	1,629	4,576	4,536
Vaccines [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Prevenar family [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		1,536	1,576	4,302	4,384
Vaccines [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | FSME-IMMUN/TicoVac [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		33	28	102	93
Vaccines [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Other Vaccines Products [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		72	26	172	60
Oncology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		1,104	786	3,206	2,026
Oncology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Ibrance [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		550	230	1,492	408
Oncology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Sutent [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		260	279	823	815
Oncology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Xalkori [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		140	122	415	353
Oncology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Inlyta [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		95	105	304	311
Oncology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Other Oncology Products [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		60	50	172	139
Inflammation and Immunology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		960	987	2,907	2,816
Inflammation and Immunology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Enbrel (Outside the U.S. and Canada) [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		701	844	2,201	2,426
Inflammation and Immunology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Xeljanz [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		235	127	649	351
Inflammation and Immunology [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | All Other Inflammation and Immunology Products [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		24	16	57	40
Rare Disease [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		585	579	1,768	1,776
Rare Disease [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | BeneFIX [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		176	194	543	561
Rare Disease [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Genotropin [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		147	142	425	447
Rare Disease [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | ReFacto AF/ Xyntha [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		140	130	408	392
Rare Disease [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Somavert [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		59	54	173	158
Rare Disease [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | Rapamune [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		38	32	131	138
Rare Disease [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member] | All Other Rare Disease Products [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		25	27	88	80
Consumer Healthcare [Member] | Innovative Health Business [Member] | IH [Member]
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues		$ 798	$ 817	$ 2,457	$ 2,465

[1] Amounts may not add due to rounding.

[2] Excludes amortization of intangible assets, except as disclosed in Note 9A. Identifiable Intangible Assets and Goodwill: Identifiable Intangible Assets.

[3] On September 3, 2015, we acquired Hospira. Commencing from the acquisition date, our condensed consolidated statement of income includes the operating results of Hospira. As a result, legacy Hospira operations are included in our condensed consolidated statements of income for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016. In accordance with our domestic and international reporting periods, our results of operations and EH's operating results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2015 reflect only one month of legacy Hospira U.S. operations but no financial results from legacy Hospira international operations. On June 24, 2016, we acquired Anacor. Commencing from the acquisition date, our condensed consolidated statement of income includes the operating results of Anacor. As a result, legacy Anacor operations are included in our condensed consolidated statements of income for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016. In accordance with our domestic reporting period, our results of operations and IH's operating results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016 include approximately three months of legacy Anacor operations. Additionally, on September 28, 2016, we acquired Medivation. Commencing from the acquisition date, our condensed consolidated statement of income includes the operating results of Medivation. As a result, legacy Medivation operations are included in our condensed consolidated statements of income for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016. In accordance with our domestic and international reporting periods, our results of operations and IH's operating results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016 reflect three business days of legacy Medivation operations, which were immaterial. See Note 2A for additional information.

[4] Lyrica revenues from all of Europe, Russia, Turkey, Israel and Central Asia countries are included in Lyrica EH. All other Lyrica revenues are included in Lyrica IH. Total Lyrica revenues represent the aggregate of worldwide revenues from Lyrica IH and Lyrica EH.

[5] Viagra revenues from the U.S. and Canada are included in Viagra IH. All other Viagra revenues are included in Viagra EH. Total Viagra revenues represent the aggregate of worldwide revenues from Viagra IH and Viagra EH.

[6] The IH business, previously known as the Innovative Products business, encompasses Internal Medicine, Vaccines, Oncology, Inflammation & Immunology, Rare Disease and Consumer Healthcare and includes all legacy Medivation and Anacor commercial operations. Medivation’s and Anacor’s commercial operations are included in IH’s operating results in our condensed consolidated statements of income, commencing from the acquisition date of September 28, 2016 for Medivation and from the acquisition date of June 24, 2016 for Anacor. As a result, IH’s revenues for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016 include three business days of legacy Medivation operations and approximately three months of legacy Anacor operations, which were immaterial.

[7] The EH business, previously known as the Established Products business, encompasses Legacy Established Products, Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals, Peri-LOE Products, Infusion Systems, Biosimilars and Pfizer CentreOne and includes all legacy Hospira commercial operations. Hospira's commercial operations, including the legacy Hospira One-2-One sterile injectables contract manufacturing business, are included in EH’s operating results in our condensed consolidated statements of income, commencing from the acquisition date of September 3, 2015. Therefore, in accordance with our domestic and international reporting periods, our results of operations and EH's operating results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2015 reflect only one month of legacy Hospira U.S. operations but no financial results from legacy Hospira international operations. Also, effective as of the beginning of 2016, our entire contract manufacturing business, Pfizer CentreOne (previously known as Pfizer CentreSource or PCS), is part of EH. Pfizer CentreOne consists of (i) legacy Pfizer's contract manufacturing and active pharmaceutical ingredient sales operation, including our manufacturing and supply agreements with Zoetis; and (ii) legacy Hospira's One-2-One sterile injectables contract manufacturing operation. Prior to 2016, PCS was managed outside our operating segments and its revenues were reported as other business activities. We have reclassified prior period PCS revenues ($116 million in the third quarter of 2015 and $360 million in the first nine months of 2015) to conform to the current period presentation as part of EH.

[8] Legacy Established Products include products that have lost patent protection (excluding Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals and Peri-LOE Products).

[9] Prior period revenues for Medrol and Zithromax/Zmax may not agree to previously-disclosed revenues because revenues for those products are now split between the Legacy Established Products and the Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals categories.

[10] Sterile Injectable Pharmaceuticals include generic injectables and proprietary specialty injectables (excluding Peri-LOE Products).

[11] Peri-LOE Products include products that have recently lost or are anticipated to soon lose patent protection. These products primarily include Lyrica in certain developed Europe markets, Pristiq globally, Celebrex, Zyvox and Revatio in most developed markets, Vfend and Viagra in certain developed Europe markets and Japan, and Inspra in the EU.

[12] Infusion Systems include Medication Management Systems products composed of infusion pumps and related software and services, as well as IV Infusion Products, including large volume IV solutions and their associated administration sets.

[13] Biosimilars include Inflectra (biosimilar infliximab) in certain European markets, Nivestim (biosimilar filgrastim) in certain Asian markets and Retacrit (biosimilar epoetin zeta) in certain international markets.

[14] Pfizer CentreOne (previously known as Pfizer CentreSource or PCS) includes (i) revenues from legacy Pfizer's contract manufacturing and active pharmaceutical ingredient sales operation, including revenues related to our manufacturing and supply agreements with Zoetis; and (ii) revenues from legacy Hospira’s One-2-One sterile injectables contract manufacturing operation.

[15] Includes Eliquis (2016 and 2015) and Rebif (2015 only).

[16] Includes Eliquis direct sales markets.