Consolidated Statements Of Comprehensive Income (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 02, 2011
Consolidated Statements Of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net Income	$ 49.9	$ 40.8
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Pension benefits, net of tax effects of ($0.6) million and $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and April 2, 2011, respectively	(0.9)	0.7
Foreign currency translation adjustments	23.7	10.7
Change in fair value of hedging activities, net of tax effects of $20.9 million and $ 1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and April 2, 2011, respectively	34.6	2.5
Hedging activities reclassified into Earnings from Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), net of tax effects of $3.5 million and ($2.2) million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and April 2, 2011, respectively	5.9	(3.5)
Total Other Comprehensive Income	63.3	10.4
Comprehensive Income	113.2	51.2
Less: Comprehensive Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests	1.7	1.4
Comprehensive Income Attributable to Regal Beloit Corporation	$ 111.5	$ 49.8