Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jul. 02, 2017	Jul. 03, 2016	Jul. 02, 2017	Jul. 03, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 610,633	$ 601,631	$ 1,162,014	$ 1,143,128
Cost of sales	(368,124)	(353,418)	(697,391)	(669,880)
Gross profit	242,509	248,213	464,623	473,248
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(117,771)	(123,057)	(230,357)	(245,463)
Research and development	(35,144)	(36,652)	(69,666)	(72,785)
Amortization of intangibles	(27,113)	(26,263)	(50,782)	(51,795)
Operating income	62,481	62,241	113,818	103,205
Interest expense, net	(23,533)	(24,049)	(47,039)	(48,445)
Loss on debt extinguishment	(847)	0	(847)	0
Income before taxes	38,101	38,192	65,932	54,760
Income tax benefit (expense)	(2,210)	3,741	(4,460)	3,531
Net income	35,891	41,933	61,472	58,291
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(86)	(99)	(192)	(198)
Net income attributable to Belden	35,977	42,032	61,664	58,489
Less: Preferred stock dividends	8,733	0	17,466	0
Net income attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ 27,244	$ 42,032	$ 44,198	$ 58,489
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents:
Basic (in shares)	42,283	42,085	42,249	42,046
Diluted (in shares)	42,832	42,533	42,753	42,459
Basic income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ 0.64	$ 1.00	$ 1.05	$ 1.39
Diluted income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ 0.64	$ 0.99	$ 1.03	$ 1.38
Comprehensive income attributable to Belden	$ 19,267	$ 43,668	$ 35,543	$ 58,407
Common stock dividends declared per share (in usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.10	$ 0.1