The invention discloses a fault detection and positioning system for a power line. the system is characterized by comprising fault detection terminals, communication terminals and a system master station, wherein the fault detection terminals are mounted on an electric transmission line or a main line outlet and branch line outlets; the communication terminals receive data transmitted by the fault detection terminals; the system master station receives data uploaded by the communication terminals and analyzes a specific position of a fault point; and each fault detection terminal comprises units as follows: an electromagnetic field induction unit, a current and voltage detection unit, a GPS signal acquisition unit, a high-precision clock unit, a power supply unit, a data storage unit, a local communication unit, a status display unit and a main processing unit. The fault detection and positioning system for the power line has the advantages as follows: quick and accurate positioning of fault points of a medium-voltage distribution line and a high-voltage electric transmission line can be realized, the fault detection terminals are simple in structure, low in power consumption and convenient to install, and the difficulty and the cost of engineering construction can be effectively reduced.