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• Proposing a new method for determining the fault location. • The proposed method based on optimally placed PMUs and ISD technique. • The method does not depend on fault type and its location. • Capable to handle the distribution system integrated with DGs. • The method can be applied on radial and meshed networks. Fast and accurate locating of electrical faults along power networks enhances system reliability and continuity of supply, quick reclamation of the power supply and subsequently decreasing service outage time. This paper introduces a new technique for online tracking of fault location in distribution networks based on system measurements available from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) and Iterative Support Detection (ISD) technique. During and prefault, the voltages are measured by PMUs which are optimally located along the network. From the voltage change vector and system impedance matrix, a current change vector involving a nonzero element corresponds to the faulty point is obtained. Since PMUs are not placed at all buses, the acquired system equation is underdetermined. Therefore, ISD technique is used to solve and recover the current vector that is sparse in nature. The proposed method is verified by applying it to an 11-bus system, with and without the presence of Distributed Generation (DG). The method is then implemented on a 104-bus real distribution network in Egypt. Different case studies are presented considering the effect of fault resistance and measurement noises. A comparative study is proceeded to illustrate the performance of the proposed method. Results clarify that this method performs effectively for different network topologies and circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]