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. 01, 2017	[1]	Dec. 31, 2016	[1]	Oct. 01, 2016	[1]	Jul. 02, 2016	[1]	Apr. 02, 2016	[2]	Jan. 02, 2016	[2]	Sep. 26, 2015	[2]	Jun. 27, 2015	[2]	Apr. 01, 2017	Apr. 02, 2016	Mar. 28, 2015
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net income	$ 153,425		$ 141,846		$ 164,192		$ 163,049		$ 145,035		$ 130,819		$ 127,298		$ 147,715		$ 622,512	$ 550,867	$ 648,216
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic	249,014		250,982		253,466		252,901		255,467		256,450		257,640		258,021		252,301	257,184	265,480
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect of Share-based Payment Arrangements																	2,284	2,260	3,257
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect of Conversion of Debt Securities and Warrants																	14,228	9,223	7,386
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted	267,157		270,781		270,373		266,206		268,462		269,611		266,046		270,730		268,813	268,667	276,123
Earnings Per Share, Basic	$ 0.62		$ 0.57		$ 0.65		$ 0.64		$ 0.57		$ 0.51		$ 0.49		$ 0.57		$ 2.47	$ 2.14	$ 2.44
Earnings Per Share, Diluted	$ 0.57		$ 0.52		$ 0.61		$ 0.61		$ 0.54		$ 0.49		$ 0.48		$ 0.55		$ 2.32	$ 2.05	$ 2.35

[1] Xilinx uses a 52- to 53-week fiscal year ending on the Saturday nearest March 31. Fiscal 2017 was a 52-week year and each quarter was a 13-week quarte

[2] 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