Quarterly Financial Information (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Quarterly Financial Data [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 619,366	$ 565,348	$ 530,790	$ 490,888	$ 529,724	$ 472,233	$ 458,433	$ 414,272	$ 2,206,392	$ 1,874,662	$ 1,614,088
Gross margin	540,206	488,613	461,894	433,482	466,356	414,435	404,878	365,573	1,924,195	1,651,242	1,426,778
Income from operations	135,814	104,679	95,590	80,883	113,346	81,477	73,818	52,075	416,966	320,716	178,677
Net income attributable to Citrix Systems, Inc.	$ 108,699	$ 92,176	$ 81,944	$ 73,503	$ 94,380	$ 87,779	$ 47,557	$ 47,349	$ 356,322	$ 277,065	$ 191,017
Net income per share attributable to Citrix Systems, Inc. stockholders - basic	$ 0.59	$ 0.49	$ 0.44	$ 0.39	$ 0.50	$ 0.47	$ 0.26	$ 0.26	$ 1.90	$ 1.49	$ 1.05
Net income per share attributable to Citrix Systems, Inc. stockholders - diluted	$ 0.58	$ 0.49	$ 0.43	$ 0.38	$ 0.49	$ 0.46	$ 0.25	$ 0.25	$ 1.87	$ 1.46	$ 1.03