Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jul. 01, 2018	Jul. 02, 2017	Jul. 01, 2018	Jul. 02, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 668,639	$ 610,633	$ 1,274,204	$ 1,162,014
Cost of sales	(411,043)	(367,529)	(786,014)	(696,536)
Gross profit	257,596	243,104	488,190	465,478
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(138,842)	(118,071)	(263,714)	(230,657)
Research and development	(37,209)	(35,144)	(74,310)	(69,666)
Amortization of intangibles	(25,039)	(27,113)	(49,457)	(50,782)
Operating income	56,506	62,776	100,709	114,373
Interest expense, net	(15,088)	(23,533)	(32,066)	(47,039)
Non-operating pension costs	(257)	(295)	(532)	(555)
Loss on debt extinguishment	(3,030)	(847)	(22,990)	(847)
Income before taxes	38,131	38,101	45,121	65,932
Income tax expense	(9,339)	(2,210)	(13,759)	(4,460)
Net income	28,792	35,891	31,362	61,472
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(77)	(86)	(125)	(192)
Net income attributable to Belden	28,869	35,977	31,487	61,664
Less: Preferred stock dividends	8,733	8,733	17,466	17,466
Net income attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ 20,136	$ 27,244	$ 14,021	$ 44,198
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents:
Basic (in shares)	40,735	42,283	41,184	42,249
Diluted (in shares)	40,974	42,832	41,492	42,753
Basic income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ 0.49	$ 0.64	$ 0.34	$ 1.05
Diluted income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ 0.49	$ 0.64	$ 0.34	$ 1.03
Comprehensive income attributable to Belden	$ 89,897	$ 19,267	$ 61,107	$ 35,543
Common stock dividends declared per share (in usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.10	$ 0.10