A comprehensive review on the methods used for fault detection, classification and location in transmission lines and distribution systems is presented in this study. Though the three topics are highly correlated, the authors try to discuss them separately, so that one may have a more logical and comprehensive understanding of the concepts without getting confused. Great significance is also attached to the feature extraction process, without which the majority of the methods may not be implemented properly. Fault detection techniques are discussed on the basis of feature extraction. After the overall concepts and general ideas are presented, representative works as well as new progress in the techniques are covered and discussed in detail. One may find the content of this study helpful as a detailed literature review or a practical technical guidance.