This article is a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the translation of idiomatic expressions in a novel entitled, The Catcher in the Rye written by Salinger and its three Persian translations. Toury’s (1995) descriptive Translation theory along with Fairclough’s (1989) model of CDA were employed to analyse and to examine the translation of idiomatic expressions related to three different periods in Iran, before and after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the reformist era (1998) as well conservatives period (2013), by focusing on macro level. The strategies which were used by the three Persian translators and their justification behind their use of these terms were investigated. The data were interpreted according to experiential, relational, and expressive values at the vocabulary level. The results of the study show that each period had a great influence on translation and translating the idiomatic expressions. The first translator before the Islamic Revolution attempts to translate the nuances and details of the novel to make it more understandable culturally. During the post-revolutionary eras, the other two translators tried to use words for the same vocabulary being outdated and replaced them with terms which were culturally more acceptable for each era.

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