In the resonant grounding system of distribution network, it will present charging and discharging phenomena in fault transient when there is a single phase-to-earth fault. This paper makes an in-depth analysis about this fault transient phenomenon, and introduces a fault location method of single phase-to-earth fault in distribution system based on charging and discharging transient characteristics. On the basis of the model, i.e. a topology of distribution network which has three feeders in 35 kV grounded fault via arc-distinct coil, this paper analyzes the frequency characteristics of fault transient by simulation, and the frequency is divided into charging and discharging frequency. Among them, the charging frequency contained in the charging process is interpreted as that it is formed by charging for RLC circuit, and the discharging frequency in the discharging process can be explained as inherent frequency which is similar to that formed in fault wave propagation in the line. Considering the disturbance of many feeders in distribution network, it is difficult to extract discharge frequency, so this research uses a comprehensive location algorithm combining the charging transient characteristics and discharging frequency characteristics. Its efficiency is verified by numbers of operating tests on different distances in the feeder, different grounding resistances and different initial phase angles.