Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Oct. 27, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
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		412,928,210