Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Nov. 02, 2016
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	TERRA NITROGEN CO L P /DE
Entity Central Index Key	0000879575
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		18,501,576