Earnings Per Share (Net Income Per Share Basic And Diluted) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Numerator:
Net income	$ 131,274	$ 55,925	$ 103,275	$ 28,887	$ 95,228	$ 47,532	$ 53,024	$ 55,939	$ 319,361	$ 251,723	$ 339,523
Denominator:
Denominator for basic earnings per share - weighted-average shares outstanding									158,874	169,879	186,672
Effect of dilutive employee stock awards:
Employee stock awards									1,488	1,391	1,573
Denominator for diluted earnings per share - weighted-average shares outstanding									160,362	171,270	188,245
Net income per share attributable to Citrix Systems, Inc. stockholders - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.85	$ 0.35	$ 0.64	$ 0.18	$ 0.59	$ 0.29	$ 0.31	$ 0.30	$ 2.01	$ 1.48	$ 1.82
Net income per share attributable to Citrix Systems, Inc. stockholders - diluted (in dollars per share)	0.84	$ 0.35	$ 0.64	$ 0.18	$ 0.58	$ 0.29	$ 0.31	$ 0.30	$ 1.99	$ 1.47	$ 1.80
Anti-dilutive weighted-average shares									2,151	3,026	3,647
Senior Notes Due 2019
Effect of dilutive employee stock awards:
Convertible debt, conversion price (in dollars per share)	$ 90.00								$ 90.00