Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 03, 2016	Jul. 29, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jul. 03, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	BDC
Entity Registrant Name	BELDEN INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0000913142
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		42,120,279