Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	[1]	Sep. 30, 2017	[1]	Jul. 01, 2017	[1]	Apr. 01, 2017	[1]	Dec. 31, 2016	[1]	Oct. 01, 2016	[1]	Jul. 02, 2016	[1]	Apr. 02, 2016	[1]	Dec. 31, 2017	Feb. 14, 2018
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Fiscal Year Focus																	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus																	FY
Document Type																	10-K
Amendment Flag																	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017		Sep. 30, 2017		Jul. 01, 2017		Apr. 01, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016		Oct. 01, 2016		Jul. 02, 2016		Apr. 02, 2016		Dec. 31, 2017
Entity Registrant Name																	VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY INC
Entity Central Index Key																	0000103730
Current Fiscal Year End Date																	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer																	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers																	No
Entity Current Reporting Status																	Yes
Entity Filer Category																	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float																		$ 2,237,000,000
Common Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding																		132,007,719
Class B Convertible Common Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding																		12,097,427

[1] The Company reports interim financial information for 13-week periods beginning on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday, except for the first fiscal quarter, which always begins on January 1, and the fourth fiscal quarter, which always ends on December 31.