Taxes on Income Narrative (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2011	Oct. 03, 2010	Oct. 02, 2011	Oct. 03, 2010	Oct. 02, 2011 U.S. Internal Revenue Service [Member]	Apr. 03, 2011 U.S. Internal Revenue Service [Member] Wyeth [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 U.S. Internal Revenue Service [Member] Wyeth [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 Canadian federal tax authority [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 Japan tax authority [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 European tax authorities (primarily Ireland, UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany) [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 Puerto Rico tax authority [Member]
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Effective tax rate	33.70%	39.50%	30.80%	37.30%
Tax years under examination					2006, 2007, 2008
Years open to tax audits					2009-2011		2006-October 15, 2009	1998-2011	2006-2011	1997-2011	2006-2011
A settlement with the IRS regarding the audits for the tax years 2002 through 2005 resulted in an income tax benefit to Pfizer for income tax and interest						$ 80	$ 80