Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Feb. 19, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Entity Registrant Name	NEWPARK RESOURCES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000071829
Trading Symbol	nr
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		84,139,363
Entity Public Float			$ 665.5
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false