497

Dreyfus Investment Funds

- Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund (“DDEMF”)

Incorporated herein by reference is a revised version of the prospectus for DDEMF filed pursuant to Rule 497 (e) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, on March 17, 2014 (SEC Accession No. 0000899681-14-000198).

XML

Label

Element

Value

Risk/Return:

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Risk/Return [Heading]

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Fund Summary

Objective [Heading]

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Investment Objective

Objective, Primary [Text Block]

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The fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Expense [Heading]

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Fees and Expenses

Expense Narrative [Text Block]

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This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.  You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds.  More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 16 of this prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]

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Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Operating Expenses Caption [Text]

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Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination

2015-02-01

Portfolio Turnover [Heading]

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Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]

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The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account.  These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 67.74% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate

rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate

67.74%

Expense Breakpoint Discounts [Text]

rr_ExpenseBreakpointDiscounts

You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds.

Expense Breakpoint, Minimum Investment Required [Amount]

rr_ExpenseBreakpointMinimumInvestmentRequiredAmount

$ 50,000

Expense Example [Heading]

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Example

Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]

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The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods.  The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same.  The one-year example and the first year of the three-, five- and ten-years examples are based on net operating expenses, which reflect the expense limitation by The Dreyfus Corporation.  Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example, No Redemption, By Year, Caption [Text]

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You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

Strategy [Heading]

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Principal Investment Strategy

Strategy Narrative [Text Block]

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To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities (or other instruments with similar economic characteristics) of companies located, organized, or with a majority of assets or business in emerging market countries, including other investment companies (underlying funds) that invest in such securities.  The fund considers emerging market countries to be all countries represented in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI®)Emerging Markets Index (MSCI EM Index), the fund's benchmark index.

The fund is designed to provide exposure to various portfolio managers and investment strategies that focus on investing in equity securities of emerging market issuers.  The fund normally allocates its assets among emerging market equity strategies employed by one or more underlying funds and/or subadvisers.  Underlying funds may include other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds and unaffiliated open-end funds, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and subadvisers may be affiliated or unaffiliated with The Dreyfus Corporation (Dreyfus), the fund's investment adviser.  The fund and the underlying funds also may invest in companies organized or with their principal place of business, or a majority of assets or business, in developed markets and pre-emerging markets, also known as frontier markets.  The fund and the underlying funds may invest in equity securities of any market capitalization.  The fund invests principally in common stocks.

The fund uses a "manager of managers" approach by selecting one or more experienced investment managers to serve as subadvisers to the fund.  The fund also uses a "fund of funds" approach by investing in one or more underlying funds.  As of the date of this prospectus, the fund allocates its assets among emerging market equity strategies employed by The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC (the TBCAM Strategy) and Mellon Capital Management Corporation (the Mellon Capital Strategy), each an affiliate of Dreyfus, and one affiliated underlying fund, Dreyfus Global Emerging Markets Fund, which is sub-advised by Newton Capital Management Limited (the Newton Fund).  Currently, one-third of the fund's total assets is allocated to each of the TBCAM Strategy,the Mellon Capital Strategy and the Newton Fund.  The fund may hire, terminate or replace subadvisers and modify material terms and conditions of subadvisory arrangements without shareholder approval.  A subadviser will have complete discretion to invest its allocated portion of the fund's assets as it deems appropriate, based on its particular investment process, philosophy, style and strategy.

Dreyfus determines the investment strategies and sets the target allocations.  Dreyfus will allocate new inflows and outflows of fund assets to the TBCAM Strategy, the Mellon Capital Strategy and the Newton Fund in accordance with the target weightings, and will rebalance the fund's portfolio at least quarterly if the amount allocated to a particular investment strategy varies from the normal targeted allocation by 10% or more because of market fluctuations.

As a result of the fund's overall investment program, including the allocation of the fund's assets to the different investment strategies, the fund's country, sector and industry weightings will vary at any given time from those of the MSCI EM Index.

TBCAM Strategy.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy make both strategic and opportunistic investments.  Strategic investments are recommended by a team of emerging market analysts supported by a global research platform.  The analysts are organized into emerging market groupings based on their area of regional/industry expertise.  These analysts utilize a fundamental, bottom-up research process to identify investments for the fund.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy invest the fund's assets in those companies in which the analysts have the highest degree of conviction or have identified a strong near-term catalyst for earnings growth or share price appreciation.  Opportunistic investments are selected by the portfolio managers, who also coordinate country selection decisions and manage risk at the overall strategy level with respect to the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy.  Opportunistic investments typically include companies with special situations, a hidden catalyst for price appreciation, or investments selected for tactical positioning purposes.  Opportunistic investments may be as much as 30% of the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy and may include the equity securities of companies in both developed and frontier markets.  The country allocation process is a function of relative valuation, combining top down qualitative and quantitative analysis with the bottom-up research process employed by the analysts.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy use the sector and country weightings of the MSCI EM Index as a guide; however, the portfolio's sector and country weightings may significantly vary from those of the index.

Mellon Capital Strategy.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the Mellon Capital Strategy apply a systematic, quantitative investment approach in managing its allocated portion of the fund's assets, which is designed to identify and exploit relative misvaluations in equity securities of emerging market issuers.  Mellon Capital uses a proprietary valuation model that identifies and ranks stocks (Composite Alpha Ranking or CAR).  Mellon Capital constructs a portfolio through a systematic structured approach, focusing on stock selection as opposed to making proactive decisions as to industry or sector exposure.  Within each sector and style subset, the portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the Mellon Capital Strategy overweight the most attractive stocks and underweight or zero weight the stocks that have been ranked least attractive.

Newton Fund.  This underlying fund invests principally in common stocks and other equity securities (or derivative or other strategic instruments with similar economic characteristics) of companies organized or with their principal place of business, or majority of assets or business, in emerging market countries.  The Newton Fund's sub-adviser, Newton Capital Management Limited (Newton), an affiliate of Dreyfus, employs a fundamental bottom-up investment process that emphasizes quality, return on capital employed and governance.  The process of identifying investment ideas begins by identifying a core list of investment themes.  These themes are based primarily on observable global economic, industrial, or social trends that Newton believes will positively affect certain sectors or industries and cause stocks within these sectors or industries to outperform others.  Newton then identifies specific companies using investment themes to help focus on areas where thematic and strategic research indicates positive returns are likely to be achieved.

Risk [Heading]

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Principal Risks

Risk Narrative [Text Block]

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An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit.  It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.  It is not a complete investment program.  The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

An investment in the fund is subject to the following principal risks:

· Allocation risk. There can be no assurance that the allocation of the fund's assets among investment strategies, subadvisers and underlying funds will be effective in achieving the fund's investment goal.

· Manager of managers risk.  Each subadviser makes investment decisions independently and it is possible that the investment styles of the subadvisers may not complement one another.  As a result, the fund's exposure to a given stock, industry, sector, market capitalization, geographic area or investment style could unintentionally be greater or smaller than it would have been if the fund had a single adviser or investment strategy.  In addition, if one subadviser buys a security during a time frame when another subadviser sells it, the fund will incur transaction costs and the fund's net position in the security may be approximately the same as it would have been with a single adviser and no such sale and purchase.

· Conflicts of interest risk.  Dreyfus or its affiliates may serve as investment adviser to one or more of the underlying funds, each of which pays advisory fees at different rates to Dreyfus or its affiliates.  The interests of the fund on the one hand, and those of an underlying fund on the other, will not always be the same.  Moreover, a subadviser may have potential conflicts of interest which could interfere with its management of the fund's assets allocated to it.  In addition, the activities in which a subadviser and its affiliates may be involved may limit or preclude the flexibility that the fund may otherwise have to participate in certain investments.  These situations are considered by the fund's board when it reviews the asset allocations for the fund.

· ETF and other investment company risk.  The risks of investing in other investment companies, including ETFs, typically reflect the risks associated with the types of instruments in which the investment companies and ETFs invest.  When the fund or an underlying fund invests in another investment company or ETF, shareholders of the fund will bear indirectly their proportionate share of the expenses of the other investment company or ETF (including management fees) in addition to the expenses of the fund.

The fund invests in shares of underlying funds and thus the fund is subject to the same investment risks as the underlying fund(s) in which it invests.  Risks associated with an investment in the fund as a result of its direct investments and its investment in one or more underlying funds, as applicable, are described below.  References to the fund below include underlying funds.

· Risks of stock investing.  Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods.  There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and falling prices.  The market value of a stock may decline due to general market conditions or because of factors that affect the particular company or the company's industry.

· Country, industry and market sector risk.  The fund may significantly overweight or underweight, relative to the MSCI EM Index, certain countries, companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund's performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those countries, companies, industries or sectors.

· Foreign investment risk.  To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers.  Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards.  Investments denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value of these investments held by the fund.

· Emerging market risk.  The securities of issuers located in emerging market countries tend to be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of issuers located in countries with more mature economies, and emerging markets generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries.  The securities of issuers located or doing substantial business in emerging markets are often subject to rapid and large changes in price.

· Frontier market risk.  The risks associated with investments in frontier market countries include all the risks described above for investments in foreign securities and emerging markets, although the risks are magnified for frontier market countries.  Because frontier markets are among the smallest, least mature and least liquid of the emerging markets, investments in frontier markets generally are subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets or traditional emerging markets.  Frontier market countries have smaller economies, less developed capital markets, greater market volatility, lower trading volume, more political and economic instability, greater risk of a market shutdown and more governmental limitations on foreign investments than typically found in more developed markets.

· Foreign currency risk.  Investments in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline relative to the currency being hedged.  Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.  Foreign currencies are also subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government intervention and controls.

· Growth and value stock risk.  By investing in a mix of growth and value companies, the fund assumes the risks of both.  Investors often expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate.  If these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately, even if earnings do increase.  In addition, growth stocks may lack the dividend yield that may cushion stock prices in market downturns.  Value stocks involve the risk that they may never reach their expected full market value, either because the market fails to recognize the stock's intrinsic worth, or the expected value was misgauged.  They also may decline in price even though in theory they are already undervalued.

· Market capitalization risk (small-, mid- and large-cap stock risk).  To the extent the fund emphasizes small-, mid-, or large-cap stocks, it will assume the associated risks.  To the extent the fund invests in small- and mid-cap companies, it will be subject to additional risks because the operating histories of these companies tend to be more limited, their earnings and revenues less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices more volatile than those of larger, more established companies.  The shares of smaller companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the fund's ability to sell these securities.  These companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or may depend on a limited management group.

· Liquidity risk.  When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities in a timely manner at or near their perceived value.  In such a market, the value of such securities and the fund's share price may fall dramatically. Investments in foreign securities, particularly those of issuers located in emerging markets, tend to have greater exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities.

Risk Lose Money [Text]

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The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]

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An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.

Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]

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Performance

Performance Narrative [Text Block]

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The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund.  The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class I shares from year to year.  The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance.  The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.  The fund changed its investment strategy on January 31, 2014.  Prior to that date, the fund invested in individual securities using a bottom-up investment approach which emphasized individual stock selection through the use of proprietary computer models and fundamental analysis.  The fund did not use a "manager of managers" or "fund of funds" approach.  Different investment strategies may lead to different performance results.  The fund's performance for periods prior to January 31, 2014 reflects the investment strategy in effect prior to that date.  Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown.  Since the fund's Class Y shares are new, past performance information is not available for Class Y shares as of the date of this prospectus.  More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]

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The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund.

Performance Availability Website Address [Text]

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www.dreyfus.com

Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]

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The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Bar Chart [Heading]

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Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) Class I

Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text]

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Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown.

Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]

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Best Quarter

Q2, 2009:  33.06%

Worst Quarter

Q4, 2008:  -28.88%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Best Quarter

Highest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate

Jun. 30, 2009

Highest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn

33.06%

Lowest Quarterly Return, Label

rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel

Worst Quarter

Lowest Quarterly Return, Date

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate

Dec. 31, 2008

Lowest Quarterly Return

rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn

(28.88%)

Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text]

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reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes

Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate

rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.

Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred

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Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text]

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After-tax performance is shown only for Class I shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary.

Performance Table Narrative

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After-tax performance is shown only for Class I shares.  After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary.  After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.  Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

For the fund's Class A and C shares, periods prior to the inception date reflect the performance of the fund's Class I shares adjusted to reflect any applicable sales charges.  Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses; if such fees and expenses had been reflected, the performance shown for Class A and C shares for such periods would have been lower.  For comparative purposes, the value of the MSCI EM Index on June 30, 2006 is used as the beginning value on July 10, 2006.

Caption

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Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/13)

MSCI EM Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Average Annual Returns, 1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

(2.60%)

Average Annual Returns, 5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

14.79%

Average Annual Returns, 10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.46%

Average Annual Returns, Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jul. 10, 2006

Class A

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice

5.75%

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther

none

^[1]

Redemption Fee (as a percentage of Amount Redeemed)

rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption

(2.00%)

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.73%

^[2]

Distribution (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

5.10%

Acquired fund fees and expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.45%

^[3]

Total annual fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

6.28%

Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

(4.23%)

^[4]

Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

2.05%

Expenses Deferred Charges [Text Block]

rr_ExpensesDeferredChargesTextBlock

Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

771

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

1,974

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

3,147

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

5,949

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

771

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

1,974

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

3,147

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

5,949

Average Annual Returns, 1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

(5.92%)

Average Annual Returns, 5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

11.85%

Average Annual Returns, 10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.49%

Average Annual Returns, Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 31, 2009

Class C

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther

1.00%

Redemption Fee (as a percentage of Amount Redeemed)

rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption

(2.00%)

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.73%

^[2]

Distribution (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

0.75%

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

4.77%

Acquired fund fees and expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.45%

^[3]

Total annual fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

6.70%

Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

(3.90%)

^[4]

Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

2.80%

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

383

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

1,629

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

2,930

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

5,994

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

283

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

1,629

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

2,930

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

5,994

Average Annual Returns, 1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

(1.94%)

Average Annual Returns, 5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

12.36%

Average Annual Returns, 10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.81%

Average Annual Returns, Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Mar. 31, 2009

Class I

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther

none

Redemption Fee (as a percentage of Amount Redeemed)

rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption

(2.00%)

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.73%

^[2]

Distribution (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

4.29%

Acquired fund fees and expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.45%

^[3]

Total annual fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

5.47%

Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

(3.67%)

^[4]

Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.80%

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

183

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

1,307

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

2,420

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

5,157

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

183

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

1,307

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

2,420

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

5,157

Annual Return 2007

rr_AnnualReturn2007

40.45%

Annual Return 2008

rr_AnnualReturn2008

(50.29%)

Annual Return 2009

rr_AnnualReturn2009

76.24%

Annual Return 2010

rr_AnnualReturn2010

18.05%

Annual Return 2011

rr_AnnualReturn2011

(21.81%)

Annual Return 2012

rr_AnnualReturn2012

17.14%

Annual Return 2013

rr_AnnualReturn2013

0.07%

Average Annual Returns, 1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.07%

Average Annual Returns, 5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

13.78%

Average Annual Returns, 10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

6.71%

Average Annual Returns, Inception Date

rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate

Jul. 10, 2006

Class I | After Taxes on Distributions

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Average Annual Returns, 1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.05%

Average Annual Returns, 5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

13.43%

Average Annual Returns, 10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.95%

Class I | After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Average Annual Returns, 1 Year

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01

0.73%

Average Annual Returns, 5 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05

12.50%

Average Annual Returns, 10 Years

rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10

5.88%

Class Y

Risk/Return:

rr_RiskReturnAbstract

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice

none

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)

rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther

none

Redemption Fee (as a percentage of Amount Redeemed)

rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption

(2.00%)

Management fees

rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets

0.73%

^[2]

Distribution (12b-1) fees

rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets

none

Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)

rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets

4.23%

^[5]

Acquired fund fees and expenses

rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets

0.45%

^[3]

Total annual fund operating expenses

rr_ExpensesOverAssets

5.41%

Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets

(3.61%)

^[4]

Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)

rr_NetExpensesOverAssets

1.80%

Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text]

rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates

Other expenses for Class Y are based on estimated amounts for the current year.

Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleYear01

183

Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear03

1,295

Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear05

2,398

Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleYear10

5,116

Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01

183

Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03

1,295

Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05

2,398

Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years

rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10

$ 5,116

[1] Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.

[2] The fund has agreed to pay an investment advisory fee at the annual rate of 1.10% of the value of the fund's average daily net assets, other than assets allocated to investments in other investment companies (underlying funds). Therefore, the fund's management fee will fluctuate based on the fund's allocation between underlying funds and direct investments. The management fee reflected above is the fund's estimated effective management fee of 1.10% times 66.67%, the anticipated percentage of fund assets to be allocated to direct investments during the current fiscal year.

[3] Acquired fund fees and expenses are incurred indirectly by the fund as a result of its investment in underlying funds and are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

[4] The fund's investment adviser, The Dreyfus Corporation, has contractually agreed, until February 1, 2015, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the expenses of the fund so that the expenses of none of the classes (excluding Rule 12b-1 fees, shareholder services fees, acquired fund fees and expenses incurred by underlying funds, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, commitment fees on borrowings and extraordinary expenses) exceed 1.35%. On or after February 1, 2015, The Dreyfus Corporation may terminate this expense limitation at any time.

[5] Other expenses for Class Y are based on estimated amounts for the current year.

XML

Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund

Fund Summary

Investment Objective

The fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.  You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds.  More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 16 of this prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund	Class A		Class C	Class I	Class Y
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	5.75%		none	none	none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price)	none	[1]	1.00%	none	none
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed; charged only when selling shares you have owned for less than 60 days)	2.00%		2.00%	2.00%	2.00%

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund		Class A	Class C	Class I	Class Y
Management fees	[1]	0.73%	0.73%	0.73%	0.73%
Distribution (12b-1) fees		none	0.75%	none	none
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees)		5.10%	4.77%	4.29%	4.23%	[2]
Acquired fund fees and expenses	[3]	0.45%	0.45%	0.45%	0.45%
Total annual fund operating expenses		6.28%	6.70%	5.47%	5.41%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement	[4]	(4.23%)	(3.90%)	(3.67%)	(3.61%)
Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement)		2.05%	2.80%	1.80%	1.80%

Example

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.  The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods.  The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same.  The one-year example and the first year of the three-, five- and ten-years examples are based on net operating expenses, which reflect the expense limitation by The Dreyfus Corporation.  Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A	771	1,974	3,147	5,949
Class C	383	1,629	2,930	5,994
Class I	183	1,307	2,420	5,157
Class Y	183	1,295	2,398	5,116

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

Expense Example No Redemption Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund (USD $)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class A	771	1,974	3,147	5,949
Class C	283	1,629	2,930	5,994
Class I	183	1,307	2,420	5,157
Class Y	183	1,295	2,398	5,116

Portfolio Turnover

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio).  A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account.  These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 67.74% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities (or other instruments with similar economic characteristics) of companies located, organized, or with a majority of assets or business in emerging market countries, including other investment companies (underlying funds) that invest in such securities.  The fund considers emerging market countries to be all countries represented in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI®)Emerging Markets Index (MSCI EM Index), the fund's benchmark index.

The fund is designed to provide exposure to various portfolio managers and investment strategies that focus on investing in equity securities of emerging market issuers.  The fund normally allocates its assets among emerging market equity strategies employed by one or more underlying funds and/or subadvisers.  Underlying funds may include other funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds and unaffiliated open-end funds, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and subadvisers may be affiliated or unaffiliated with The Dreyfus Corporation (Dreyfus), the fund's investment adviser.  The fund and the underlying funds also may invest in companies organized or with their principal place of business, or a majority of assets or business, in developed markets and pre-emerging markets, also known as frontier markets.  The fund and the underlying funds may invest in equity securities of any market capitalization.  The fund invests principally in common stocks.

The fund uses a "manager of managers" approach by selecting one or more experienced investment managers to serve as subadvisers to the fund.  The fund also uses a "fund of funds" approach by investing in one or more underlying funds.  As of the date of this prospectus, the fund allocates its assets among emerging market equity strategies employed by The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC (the TBCAM Strategy) and Mellon Capital Management Corporation (the Mellon Capital Strategy), each an affiliate of Dreyfus, and one affiliated underlying fund, Dreyfus Global Emerging Markets Fund, which is sub-advised by Newton Capital Management Limited (the Newton Fund).  Currently, one-third of the fund's total assets is allocated to each of the TBCAM Strategy,the Mellon Capital Strategy and the Newton Fund.  The fund may hire, terminate or replace subadvisers and modify material terms and conditions of subadvisory arrangements without shareholder approval.  A subadviser will have complete discretion to invest its allocated portion of the fund's assets as it deems appropriate, based on its particular investment process, philosophy, style and strategy.

Dreyfus determines the investment strategies and sets the target allocations.  Dreyfus will allocate new inflows and outflows of fund assets to the TBCAM Strategy, the Mellon Capital Strategy and the Newton Fund in accordance with the target weightings, and will rebalance the fund's portfolio at least quarterly if the amount allocated to a particular investment strategy varies from the normal targeted allocation by 10% or more because of market fluctuations.

As a result of the fund's overall investment program, including the allocation of the fund's assets to the different investment strategies, the fund's country, sector and industry weightings will vary at any given time from those of the MSCI EM Index.

TBCAM Strategy.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy make both strategic and opportunistic investments.  Strategic investments are recommended by a team of emerging market analysts supported by a global research platform.  The analysts are organized into emerging market groupings based on their area of regional/industry expertise.  These analysts utilize a fundamental, bottom-up research process to identify investments for the fund.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy invest the fund's assets in those companies in which the analysts have the highest degree of conviction or have identified a strong near-term catalyst for earnings growth or share price appreciation.  Opportunistic investments are selected by the portfolio managers, who also coordinate country selection decisions and manage risk at the overall strategy level with respect to the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy.  Opportunistic investments typically include companies with special situations, a hidden catalyst for price appreciation, or investments selected for tactical positioning purposes.  Opportunistic investments may be as much as 30% of the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy and may include the equity securities of companies in both developed and frontier markets.  The country allocation process is a function of relative valuation, combining top down qualitative and quantitative analysis with the bottom-up research process employed by the analysts.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the TBCAM Strategy use the sector and country weightings of the MSCI EM Index as a guide; however, the portfolio's sector and country weightings may significantly vary from those of the index.

Mellon Capital Strategy.  The portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the Mellon Capital Strategy apply a systematic, quantitative investment approach in managing its allocated portion of the fund's assets, which is designed to identify and exploit relative misvaluations in equity securities of emerging market issuers.  Mellon Capital uses a proprietary valuation model that identifies and ranks stocks (Composite Alpha Ranking or CAR).  Mellon Capital constructs a portfolio through a systematic structured approach, focusing on stock selection as opposed to making proactive decisions as to industry or sector exposure.  Within each sector and style subset, the portfolio managers responsible for managing the portion of the fund's assets allocated to the Mellon Capital Strategy overweight the most attractive stocks and underweight or zero weight the stocks that have been ranked least attractive.

Newton Fund.  This underlying fund invests principally in common stocks and other equity securities (or derivative or other strategic instruments with similar economic characteristics) of companies organized or with their principal place of business, or majority of assets or business, in emerging market countries.  The Newton Fund's sub-adviser, Newton Capital Management Limited (Newton), an affiliate of Dreyfus, employs a fundamental bottom-up investment process that emphasizes quality, return on capital employed and governance.  The process of identifying investment ideas begins by identifying a core list of investment themes.  These themes are based primarily on observable global economic, industrial, or social trends that Newton believes will positively affect certain sectors or industries and cause stocks within these sectors or industries to outperform others.  Newton then identifies specific companies using investment themes to help focus on areas where thematic and strategic research indicates positive returns are likely to be achieved.

Principal Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit.  It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.  It is not a complete investment program.  The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

An investment in the fund is subject to the following principal risks:

· Allocation risk. There can be no assurance that the allocation of the fund's assets among investment strategies, subadvisers and underlying funds will be effective in achieving the fund's investment goal.

· Manager of managers risk.  Each subadviser makes investment decisions independently and it is possible that the investment styles of the subadvisers may not complement one another.  As a result, the fund's exposure to a given stock, industry, sector, market capitalization, geographic area or investment style could unintentionally be greater or smaller than it would have been if the fund had a single adviser or investment strategy.  In addition, if one subadviser buys a security during a time frame when another subadviser sells it, the fund will incur transaction costs and the fund's net position in the security may be approximately the same as it would have been with a single adviser and no such sale and purchase.

· Conflicts of interest risk.  Dreyfus or its affiliates may serve as investment adviser to one or more of the underlying funds, each of which pays advisory fees at different rates to Dreyfus or its affiliates.  The interests of the fund on the one hand, and those of an underlying fund on the other, will not always be the same.  Moreover, a subadviser may have potential conflicts of interest which could interfere with its management of the fund's assets allocated to it.  In addition, the activities in which a subadviser and its affiliates may be involved may limit or preclude the flexibility that the fund may otherwise have to participate in certain investments.  These situations are considered by the fund's board when it reviews the asset allocations for the fund.

· ETF and other investment company risk.  The risks of investing in other investment companies, including ETFs, typically reflect the risks associated with the types of instruments in which the investment companies and ETFs invest.  When the fund or an underlying fund invests in another investment company or ETF, shareholders of the fund will bear indirectly their proportionate share of the expenses of the other investment company or ETF (including management fees) in addition to the expenses of the fund.

The fund invests in shares of underlying funds and thus the fund is subject to the same investment risks as the underlying fund(s) in which it invests.  Risks associated with an investment in the fund as a result of its direct investments and its investment in one or more underlying funds, as applicable, are described below.  References to the fund below include underlying funds.

· Risks of stock investing.  Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods.  There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and falling prices.  The market value of a stock may decline due to general market conditions or because of factors that affect the particular company or the company's industry.

· Country, industry and market sector risk.  The fund may significantly overweight or underweight, relative to the MSCI EM Index, certain countries, companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund's performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those countries, companies, industries or sectors.

· Foreign investment risk.  To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers.  Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards.  Investments denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value of these investments held by the fund.

· Emerging market risk.  The securities of issuers located in emerging market countries tend to be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of issuers located in countries with more mature economies, and emerging markets generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries.  The securities of issuers located or doing substantial business in emerging markets are often subject to rapid and large changes in price.

· Frontier market risk.  The risks associated with investments in frontier market countries include all the risks described above for investments in foreign securities and emerging markets, although the risks are magnified for frontier market countries.  Because frontier markets are among the smallest, least mature and least liquid of the emerging markets, investments in frontier markets generally are subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets or traditional emerging markets.  Frontier market countries have smaller economies, less developed capital markets, greater market volatility, lower trading volume, more political and economic instability, greater risk of a market shutdown and more governmental limitations on foreign investments than typically found in more developed markets.

· Foreign currency risk.  Investments in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline relative to the currency being hedged.  Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.  Foreign currencies are also subject to risks caused by inflation, interest rates, budget deficits and low savings rates, political factors and government intervention and controls.

· Growth and value stock risk.  By investing in a mix of growth and value companies, the fund assumes the risks of both.  Investors often expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate.  If these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately, even if earnings do increase.  In addition, growth stocks may lack the dividend yield that may cushion stock prices in market downturns.  Value stocks involve the risk that they may never reach their expected full market value, either because the market fails to recognize the stock's intrinsic worth, or the expected value was misgauged.  They also may decline in price even though in theory they are already undervalued.

· Market capitalization risk (small-, mid- and large-cap stock risk).  To the extent the fund emphasizes small-, mid-, or large-cap stocks, it will assume the associated risks.  To the extent the fund invests in small- and mid-cap companies, it will be subject to additional risks because the operating histories of these companies tend to be more limited, their earnings and revenues less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices more volatile than those of larger, more established companies.  The shares of smaller companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the fund's ability to sell these securities.  These companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or may depend on a limited management group.

· Liquidity risk.  When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities in a timely manner at or near their perceived value.  In such a market, the value of such securities and the fund's share price may fall dramatically. Investments in foreign securities, particularly those of issuers located in emerging markets, tend to have greater exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund.  The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class I shares from year to year.  The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance.  The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.  The fund changed its investment strategy on January 31, 2014.  Prior to that date, the fund invested in individual securities using a bottom-up investment approach which emphasized individual stock selection through the use of proprietary computer models and fundamental analysis.  The fund did not use a "manager of managers" or "fund of funds" approach.  Different investment strategies may lead to different performance results.  The fund's performance for periods prior to January 31, 2014 reflects the investment strategy in effect prior to that date.  Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown.  Since the fund's Class Y shares are new, past performance information is not available for Class Y shares as of the date of this prospectus.  More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) Class I

Best Quarter

Q2, 2009:  33.06%

Worst Quarter

Q4, 2008:  -28.88%

Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/13)

After-tax performance is shown only for Class I shares.  After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary.  After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.  Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

For the fund's Class A and C shares, periods prior to the inception date reflect the performance of the fund's Class I shares adjusted to reflect any applicable sales charges.  Such performance figures have not been adjusted to reflect applicable class fees and expenses; if such fees and expenses had been reflected, the performance shown for Class A and C shares for such periods would have been lower.  For comparative purposes, the value of the MSCI EM Index on June 30, 2006 is used as the beginning value on July 10, 2006.

Average Annual Returns Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund	Average Annual Returns, 1 Year	Average Annual Returns, 5 Years	Average Annual Returns, 10 Years	Average Annual Returns, Inception Date
Class I	0.07%	13.78%	6.71%	Jul. 10, 2006
Class A	(5.92%)	11.85%	5.49%	Mar. 31, 2009
Class C	(1.94%)	12.36%	5.81%	Mar. 31, 2009
After Taxes on Distributions Class I	0.05%	13.43%	5.95%
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares Class I	0.73%	12.50%	5.88%
MSCI EM Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes	(2.60%)	14.79%	6.46%	Jul. 10, 2006

[1] Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.

[1] The fund has agreed to pay an investment advisory fee at the annual rate of 1.10% of the value of the fund's average daily net assets, other than assets allocated to investments in other investment companies (underlying funds). Therefore, the fund's management fee will fluctuate based on the fund's allocation between underlying funds and direct investments. The management fee reflected above is the fund's estimated effective management fee of 1.10% times 66.67%, the anticipated percentage of fund assets to be allocated to direct investments during the current fiscal year.

[2] Other expenses for Class Y are based on estimated amounts for the current year.

[3] Acquired fund fees and expenses are incurred indirectly by the fund as a result of its investment in underlying funds and are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

[4] The fund's investment adviser, The Dreyfus Corporation, has contractually agreed, until February 1, 2015, to waive receipt of its fees and/or assume the expenses of the fund so that the expenses of none of the classes (excluding Rule 12b-1 fees, shareholder services fees, acquired fund fees and expenses incurred by underlying funds, taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, commitment fees on borrowings and extraordinary expenses) exceed 1.35%. On or after February 1, 2015, The Dreyfus Corporation may terminate this expense limitation at any time.

XML

Document and Entity Information	0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Risk/Return:
Document Type	497
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2013
Registrant Name	DREYFUS INVESTMENT FUNDS
Central Index Key	0000799295
Amendment Flag	false
Document Creation Date	Mar. 17, 2014
Document Effective Date	Mar. 17, 2014
Prospectus Date	Mar. 17, 2014
Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund | Class I
Risk/Return:
Trading Symbol	SBCEX
Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund | Class A
Risk/Return:
Trading Symbol	DBEAX
Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund | Class C
Risk/Return:
Trading Symbol	DBECX
Dreyfus Diversified Emerging Markets Fund | Class Y
Risk/Return:
Trading Symbol	SBYEX

XML

Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Mar. 17, 2014