Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2016	Nov. 04, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Oct. 02, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	BDC
Entity Registrant Name	BELDEN INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0000913142
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity File Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		42,144,409