Net Income Per Common Share Earnings Per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Apr. 02, 2016	[1]	Jan. 02, 2016	[1]	Sep. 26, 2015	[1]	Jun. 27, 2015	[1]	Mar. 28, 2015	[2]	Dec. 27, 2014	[2]	Sep. 27, 2014	[2]	Jun. 28, 2014	[2]	Apr. 02, 2016	Mar. 28, 2015	Mar. 29, 2014
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net income	$ 145,035		$ 130,819		$ 127,298		$ 147,715		$ 134,623		$ 168,466		$ 171,516		$ 173,611		$ 550,867	$ 648,216	$ 630,388
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic	255,467		256,450		257,640		258,021		260,857		262,881		265,942		267,648		257,184	265,480	266,431
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect of Share-based Payment Arrangements																	2,260	3,257	4,508
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect of Conversion of Debt Securities and Warrants																	9,223	7,386	8,544
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect of Conversion of Debt Securities																	0	0	7,913
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted	268,462		269,611		266,046		270,730		269,514		273,795		275,800		281,579		268,667	276,123	287,396
Earnings Per Share, Basic	$ 0.57		$ 0.51		$ 0.49		$ 0.57		$ 0.52		$ 0.64		$ 0.64		$ 0.65		$ 2.14	$ 2.44	$ 2.37
Earnings Per Share, Diluted	$ 0.54		$ 0.49		$ 0.48		$ 0.55		$ 0.50		$ 0.62		$ 0.62		$ 0.62		$ 2.05	$ 2.35	$ 2.19

[1] Xilinx uses a 52- to 53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday nearest March 31. Fiscal 2016 was a 53-week year and each quarter was a 13-week quarter except the third quarter, which was a 14-week quarter.

[2] Xilinx uses a 52- to 53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday nearest March 31. Fiscal 2015 was a 52-week year and each quarter was a 13-week quarter.