Acquisitions - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands				3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
		Jan. 29, 2015	Jan. 12, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Feb. 19, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Share price			$ 59.70
Common stock, par value			$ 0.01	$ 0.01		$ 0.01			$ 0.01
Net sales				$ 931,485	$ 604,721	$ 1,815,889	$ 1,204,564
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation				52,147	22,447	95,262	79,030
Acquisition and integration related costs				24,166	4,843	83,689	4,843
Goodwill				2,769,619		2,769,619			$ 243,262
Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total purchase price			$ 5,718,268
Cash issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock			$ 50.65
Equity issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock			0.4803
Net sales				363,600		692,500
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation				16,800		25,700
Acquisition and integration related costs				21,300		78,700
Goodwill			$ 2,643,371
Business Combination, Provisional Information, Initial Accounting Incomplete, Goodwill				18,500
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life			23 years
Utilization of inventory markup				37,300		85,500
Other significant projects
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs				$ 2,900	$ 4,800	$ 5,000	$ 4,800
Shanghai Chemetall
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Equity Interest Acquired, Percentage		40.00%
Acquisition of remaining interest in Shanghai Chemetall		$ 57,600
Acquisition of remaining interest in Shanghai Chemetall, net of cash acquired		45,600
Equity Interest in Acquiree, Fair Value		$ 60,000
Common Stock | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock - number of shares issued			0
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%		4.625%
Debt instrument, face amount			$ 1,250,000
Unamortized Premium			$ 43,700	$ 40,203		$ 40,203
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			20 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
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Liability for appraisal shares	[1]			$ 74,934		$ 74,934

[1] See Note 2, “Acquisitions.”