A method for detecting, identifying and locating partial discharges occurring in a discharge site along an electric apparatus comprises the following steps: detecting (1) electrical signals in a detection station; attributing (2) to each detected signal a value of a phase parameter; deriving (3) for each signal at least one shape parameter and one amplitude parameter; separating (4) the set of signals detected into sub sets that are homogeneous relative to the shape parameter; identifying (5) sub-sets related to partial discharges and cataloguing them; repeating the above steps in a plurality of detection stations positioned along the apparatus; correlating (7) the sub-sets of signals detected in different detection stations and catalogued similarly; selecting (8) as a function of the amplitude and shape parameters of a sub-set among the correlated ones and locating (9) the partial discharges related to said sub-sets at the detection station of the selected sub-set. Known methods have poor effectiveness and/or reliability, especially for cables whose length exceeds 1-2 km or, alternatively, they require an excessively complex and costly field implementation.