Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 27, 2016	May. 25, 2016	Sep. 27, 2015
Entity Registrant Name	EXAR CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000753568
Trading Symbol	exar
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--03-27
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		48,620,468
Entity Public Float			$ 131.1
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Mar. 27, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false