Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 722,063	$ 657,211
Cost of goods sold	466,975	414,677
Gross profit	255,088	242,534
Selling, general and administrative expenses	108,001	82,631
Research and development expenses	24,323	19,872
Gain on sales of businesses, net	0	(121,324)
Acquisition and integration related costs	0	18,558
Operating profit	122,764	242,797
Interest and financing expenses	(68,513)	(15,114)
Other (expenses) income, net	(794)	47
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	53,457	227,730
Income tax expense	11,971	25,485
Income from continuing operations before equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	41,486	202,245
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax)	21,171	15,991
Net income from continuing operations	62,657	218,236
Income from discontinued operations (net of tax)	0	17,312
Net income	62,657	235,548
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(11,444)	(7,362)
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation	$ 51,213	$ 228,186
Basic earnings per share:
Basic earnings per share from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 0.46	$ 1.88
Basic earnings per share from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.15
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.46	2.03
Diluted earnings per share:
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	0.45	1.87
Diluted earnings per share from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.15
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.45	$ 2.02
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	111,986	112,260
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	113,289	112,770
Cash dividends declared per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.32	$ 0.305