Acquisitions, Divestitures, Collaborative Arrangements and Equity-Method Investments - Collaborative Arrangements (Parenthetical) (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Collaborative Arrangements and Non-collaborative Arrangement Transactions [Line Items]
Upfront payments and milestone payments	$ 210	$ 147	$ 150

The cash outflow to our partners for payments made upfront as part of a collaborative arrangement and the payments upon the achievement of milestones.

No definition available.

Name:	pfe_CollaborativeArrangementUpfrontAndMilestonePayments
Namespace Prefix:	pfe_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration