Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2017	Oct. 02, 2016	Oct. 01, 2017	Oct. 02, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 621,745	$ 601,109	$ 1,783,759	$ 1,744,237
Cost of sales	(381,921)	(355,147)	(1,079,312)	(1,025,027)
Gross profit	239,824	245,962	704,447	719,210
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(116,429)	(126,662)	(346,786)	(372,125)
Research and development	(35,442)	(33,512)	(105,108)	(106,297)
Amortization of intangibles	(27,162)	(23,808)	(77,944)	(75,603)
Operating income	60,791	61,980	174,609	165,185
Interest expense, net	(19,385)	(23,513)	(66,424)	(71,958)
Loss on debt extinguishment	(51,594)	0	(52,441)	0
Income (loss) before taxes	(10,188)	38,467	55,744	93,227
Income tax benefit (expense)	11,133	(2,395)	6,673	1,136
Net income	945	36,072	62,417	94,363
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(82)	(88)	(274)	(286)
Net income attributable to Belden	1,027	36,160	62,691	94,649
Less: Preferred stock dividends	8,732	6,695	26,198	6,695
Net income (loss) attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ (7,705)	$ 29,465	$ 36,493	$ 87,954
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents:
Basic (in shares)	42,256	42,126	42,251	42,073
Diluted (in shares)	42,256	42,648	42,663	42,534
Basic income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ (0.18)	$ 0.70	$ 0.86	$ 2.09
Diluted income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ (0.18)	$ 0.69	$ 0.86	$ 2.07
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Belden	$ (18,127)	$ 32,353	$ 17,416	$ 90,760
Common stock dividends declared per share (in usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.15	$ 0.15