Document And Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2016	Nov. 01, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	EXAR CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000753568
Trading Symbol	exar
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--04-02
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)		50,148,050
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Oct. 02, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false