Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 02, 2017	May 04, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 02, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	BDC
Entity Registrant Name	BELDEN INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0000913142
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity File Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		42,271,634