Acquisitions - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands				3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 23, 2015	Jan. 29, 2015	Jan. 12, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015		Sep. 30, 2015		Jun. 30, 2015		Mar. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014		Sep. 30, 2014		Jun. 30, 2014		Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Oct. 15, 2015	Feb. 19, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Share price			$ 59.70
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)			$ 0.01	$ 0.01								$ 0.01								$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Acquisition and integration related costs				$ 19,609	[1]	$ 42,798	[1]	$ 24,166	[1]	$ 59,523	[1]	$ 15,054	[1]	$ 10,261	[1]	$ 4,843	[1]	$ 0	[1]	$ 146,096	$ 30,158	$ 0
Net sales				930,353		905,093		931,485		884,404		598,566		642,418		604,721		599,843		3,651,335	2,445,548	2,394,270
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation				174,252		$ 65,392		$ 52,147		$ 43,115		(18,508)		$ 72,794		$ 22,447		$ 56,583		334,906	133,316	413,171
Goodwill				$ 2,893,811								$ 243,262								2,893,811	243,262	284,203
Purchase of noncontrolling interest																				4,784	0	$ 0
Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total purchase price			$ 5,725,321
Cash issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock			$ 50.65
Equity issued per outstanding share of Rockwood common stock			0.4803
Acquisition and integration related costs																				137,700	23,600
Net sales																				1,400,000
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation																				176,200
Goodwill			$ 2,817,135
Change in purchase price allocation, goodwill																				192,300
Acquired finite-lived intangible assets, weighted average useful life			23 years
Utilization of inventory markup																				103,000
Other significant projects
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs																				8,400	$ 6,600
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
Nanjing Chemetall Surface Treatment Technologies [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase of noncontrolling interest	$ 4,800
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 (in dollars per share)			$ 0.01
Patents and Technology | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired finite-lived intangible assets, weighted average useful life			20 years
Trademarks and Trade Names | 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
4.625% Senior Notes
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument, interest rate			4.625%
Principal amount of debt			$ 1,250,000
Unamortized premium			$ 43,700																				$ 38,000
Cost of Sales | Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition measurement period adjustments																				3,000
Utilization of inventory markup																				$ 75,900

[1] See Note 2, “Acquisitions.”