Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Aug. 02, 2017
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	Jun. 30, 2017
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		18,501,576