Partial discharge（PD） detection is recognized as one of the most effective and most important methods of insulation condition assessment. It is widely studied and applied in the insulation diagnosis and evaluation of power equipment. From the aspects of PD detection methods

defect pattern recognition and PD source location

the recent developments of PD detection are reviewed and summarized. Moreover

some popular concerns in current researches and applications of PD detection are discussed

including on-line monitoring and live detection

limitations of different detection methods

risk assessment of PD sources

and PD detection for equipment under different types of voltage. Suggestions are proposed for guiding possible future research and applications: it is necessary to enhance the reliability and accuracy of online monitoring systems

evaluate the effectiveness of different methods in detecting different defects

develop evaluation methods of PD detection results that are more reasonable

and further research the PD characteristics and PD detection method according to situations of different voltage waveforms.