Label	Element	Value
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	FIDELITY COVINGTON TRUST
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Oct. 18, 2013
Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	Fund Summary Fund: Fidelity® MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The fund seeks to provide investment returns that correspond, before fees and expenses, generally to the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	Fee Table
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	The following table describes the fees and expenses that may be incurred when you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	Annual operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock	The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text]	rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates	Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	This example helps compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. Let's say, hypothetically, that the annual return for shares of the fund is 5% and that your shareholder fees and the annual operating expenses for shares of the fund are exactly as described in the fee table. This example illustrates the effect of fees and expenses, but is not meant to suggest actual or expected fees and expenses or returns, all of which may vary. Investors may pay brokerage commissions on their purchases and sales of fund shares, which are not reflected in the example. For every $10,000 you invested, here's how much you would pay in total expenses if you sell all of your shares at the end of each time period indicated:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	Investing at least 80% of assets in securities included in the fund's underlying index. The fund's underlying index is the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index, which represents the performance of the consumer staples sector in the U.S. equity market. Using a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the fund. "Representative sampling" is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to the index. The securities selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of the index. The fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index.
Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text]	rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration	Investing at least 80% of assets in securities included in the fund's underlying index. The fund's underlying index is the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index, which represents the performance of the consumer staples sector in the U.S. equity market.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block]	rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock	Stock Market Volatility. Stock markets and, as a result, stock market indexes, are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments. Different parts of the market, including different market sectors, and different types of securities can react differently to these developments. Consumer Staples Industry Concentration. The consumer staples industries can be significantly affected by demographics and product trends, competitive pricing, food fads, marketing campaigns, environmental factors, government regulation, the performance of the overall economy, interest rates, consumer confidence, and the cost of commodities. Issuer-Specific Changes. The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than, and can perform differently from, the market as a whole. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Fluctuation of Net Asset Value and Share Price. The net asset value per share (NAV) of the fund will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the fund's holdings. The fund's shares are listed on NYSE Arca, Inc. (NYSE Arca) and trade at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the fund's shares will approximate the fund's NAV, there is no guarantee that will be the case. Correlation to Index. The performance of the fund and its underlying index may vary somewhat due to factors such as transaction costs, sample selection, and timing differences associated with additions to and deletions from the index. No History of an Active Trading Market/Trading Issues. There can be no assurance that an active trading market will be maintained. Trading may be halted, for example, due to market conditions. In addition, the fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of assets in securities of a smaller number of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a more diversified fund. An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Risk Lose Money [Text]	rr_RiskLoseMoney	You could lose money by investing in the fund.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text]	rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus	In addition, the fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of assets in securities of a smaller number of individual issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price than would occur in a more diversified fund.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text]	rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution	An investment in the fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	Performance
Performance One Year or Less [Text]	rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess	Performance history will be available for the fund after the fund has been in operation for one calendar year.
Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF | Class: Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF
Risk/Return:	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)	rr_ShareholderFeeOther	none
Management fee	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.12%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) fees	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	none	[1]
Total annual operating expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.12%
1 year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	12
3 years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	$ 39

[1] Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.