Acquisitions - Additional Information (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Jan. 29, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015		Mar. 31, 2014	Jan. 12, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Feb. 19, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Share price					$ 59.70
Common stock, par value		$ 0.01			$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Net sales		$ 884,404,000		$ 599,843,000
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation		43,115,000		56,583,000
Acquisition and integration related costs		59,523,000		0
Goodwill		2,709,670,000				243,262,000
Utilization of inventory markup		48,200,000
Equity Interest Acquired, Percentage	40.00%
Acquisition of remaining interest in Shanghai Chemetall	57,600,000
Acquisition of remaining interest in Shanghai Chemetall, net of cash acquired	45,550,000	45,550,000		0
Equity Interest in Acquiree, Fair Value	60,000,000
Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total purchase price					5,718,268,000
Cash issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock					$ 50.65
Equity issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock					0.4803
Net sales		328,800,000
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation		8,900,000
Acquisition and integration related costs		57,400,000
Goodwill					2,624,876,000
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life					23 years
Other significant projects
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs		2,100,000
Common Stock | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock - number of shares issued					34,100,000
Appraisal shares							882,000
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value					$ 0.01
4.625% Senior Notes
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument, interest rate		4.625%			4.625%
Debt instrument, face amount					1,250,000,000
Unamortized Premium		42,102,000			43,700,000
Patents and technology | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life					17 years
Trade names and trademarks | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life					24 years
Customer lists and relationships | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life					24 years
Rockwood Merger Appraisal Shares Litigation [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Liability for appraisal shares		$ 74,934,000	[1]

[1] See Note 2, “Acquisitions.”