Abstract: In recent years, the power-electronization of power system is ever-increasing, leading to more and more frequently power quality disturbances, where the caused power quality problems can further pose a serious threat to the safety, economy and efficient operation of electricity users. Therefore, the detection and identification of power quality disturbances is of great significance. It can identify the grid disturbances timely and provide effective information for preventing power quality problems. Considering there are various existing methods different from each other, either on algorithms and application features, this paper intends to start with the addressing of disturbance characteristics of typical power quality problems, and to give an overview on the existing methods of disturbance detection, feature selection, and problem identification. The remained issues were analyzed, and further research directions were suggested.