Because of a complicated electromagnetic environment and Current Transformer (CT) saturation, the conventional methods of transformer inrush current identification may operate with a long time delay or even mal-operate. To solve this problem, a new magnetizing inrush identification method based on the distribution characteristics of the current waveform is proposed. The fault differential current and inrush current are distinguished by comparing the waveform similarity between the differential current and the sinusoidal signal using the Bhattacharyya coefficient. Based on a PSCAD/EMTDC simulation and dynamic experiment tests, the validity of the criterion is verified under the conditions of unloaded transformer energization, internal and external faults, energizations with faults and CT saturation, as well as faults accompanied with CT saturation. This work is supported is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51607106) and Open Foundation of Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory for Operation and Control of Cascaded Hydropower Station (China Three Gorges University) (No. 2018KJX05).