Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Feb. 29, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Document period end date	Dec. 31, 2011
Amendment flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Period Focus	FY
Current fiscal year end date	--12-31
Entity central index key	0000081362
Entity current reporting status	Yes
Entity filer category	Accelerated Filer
Entity registrant name	Quaker Chemical Corporation
Entity voluntary filers	No
Entity well known seasoned issuer	No
Entity common stock shares outstanding		12,920,348
Entity public float			$ 551,529,875