Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	bcr
Entity Registrant Name	BARD C R INC /NJ/
Entity Central Index Key	0000009892
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	83,927,711