Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2018	Apr. 02, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 605,565	$ 551,381
Cost of sales	(374,971)	(329,007)
Gross profit	230,594	222,374
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(124,872)	(112,586)
Research and development	(37,101)	(34,522)
Amortization of intangibles	(24,418)	(23,669)
Operating income	44,203	51,597
Interest expense, net	(16,978)	(23,506)
Non-operating pension costs	(275)	(260)
Loss on debt extinguishment	(19,960)	0
Income before taxes	6,990	27,831
Income tax expense	(4,420)	(2,250)
Net income	2,570	25,581
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(48)	(106)
Net income attributable to Belden	2,618	25,687
Less: Preferred stock dividends	8,733	8,733
Net income (loss) attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ (6,115)	$ 16,954
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents:
Basic (in shares)	41,633	42,216
Diluted (in shares)	41,633	42,675
Basic income (loss) per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ (0.15)	$ 0.40
Diluted income (loss) per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ (0.15)	$ 0.40
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Belden	$ (28,790)	$ 16,276
Common stock dividends declared per share (in usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.05