Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 29, 2016
Document Documentand Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	SLGN
Entity Registrant Name	Silgan Holdings Inc
Entity Central Index Key	0000849869
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		60,468,347