Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Apr. 30, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	IP
Entity Registrant Name	INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO /NEW/
Entity Central Index Key	0000051434
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		444,847,829