Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Jan. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	BCR
Entity Registrant Name	BARD C R INC /NJ/
Entity Central Index Key	0000009892
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		81,794,237
Entity Public Float			$ 9,006,610,430