Operating Profit by Industry Segment (Parenthetical) (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Shorewood Operations	Jun. 30, 2011 Shorewood Operations	Jun. 30, 2012 Shorewood Operations	Jun. 30, 2011 Shorewood Operations	Jun. 30, 2012 Xpedx	Jun. 30, 2011 Xpedx	Jun. 30, 2012 Xpedx	Jun. 30, 2011 Xpedx	Jun. 30, 2011 Etienne Mill, France	Jun. 30, 2011 Joint Venture In Turkey	Jun. 30, 2011 Franklin, Virginia Mill	Jun. 30, 2011 Franklin, Virginia Mill	Jun. 30, 2011 Inverurie Mill	Jun. 30, 2012 Temple-Inland Inc.	Mar. 31, 2012 Temple-Inland Inc.	Jun. 30, 2012 Temple-Inland Inc.	Jun. 30, 2012 Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Limited	Jun. 30, 2012 Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Limited	Jun. 30, 2012 Hueneme Mill Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2012 Hueneme Mill Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2012 Containerboard Mills Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2012 Containerboard Mills Other Divestitures And Impairments	Mar. 31, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture	Jun. 30, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2011 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments	Jun. 30, 2012 Shorewood Divestiture Other Divestitures And Impairments Others
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Fixed asset impairment charge			$ 129		$ 129															$ 62	$ 62					$ 129
Integration costs															35		78
Gain (loss) on sale of business, before tax		(6)		1																		(9)	(9)	7	(6)		(1)
Write-up of inventory																20	20
Gain (Loss) on bargain purchase price adjustment																		(2)	(1)
Restructuring charges			2		3	12	10	33	17
Additional closure cost										2
Gain on bargain purchase price adjustment	7										7
Gain related to the repurposing of the Franklin, Virginia mill to produce fluff pulp												21	21
Asset impairment costs														$ 8