Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Apr. 25, 2018
Document And Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	NEWPARK RESOURCES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000071829
Trading Symbol	nr
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		89,310,403