Acquisitions - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands				3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
		Jan. 29, 2015	Jan. 12, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 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			$ 0.01
Net sales				$ 905,093	$ 642,418		$ 2,720,982	$ 1,846,982
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation				65,392	72,794		160,654	151,824
Acquisition and integration related costs				42,798	10,261		126,487	15,104
Goodwill				2,811,086		$ 2,811,086	2,811,086			$ 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				359,800			1,100,000
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation				18,200			43,900
Acquisition and integration related costs				41,800	9,300		120,500	9,300
Goodwill			$ 2,677,465
Change in purchase price allocation, goodwill						$ 52,600
Acquired finite-lived intangible assets, weighted average useful life			23 years
Utilization of inventory markup				16,800			102,300
Other significant projects
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs				$ 1,000	$ 1,000		$ 6,000	$ 5,800
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%	4.625%
Debt instrument, face amount			$ 1,250,000
Unamortized premium			$ 43,700	$ 38,303		$ 38,303	$ 38,303
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	$ 74,934

[1] See Note 2, “Acquisitions.”