Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2012	Apr. 20, 2012
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 01, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Registrant Name	TELEFLEX INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000096943
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		40,812,152