This paper dealt with a partial discharge (PD) detection method for insulation diagnosis in cast-resin transformers. To detect PD pulse, a planar-capacitive probe was designed and fabricated. The probe has no insulation problem and can be installed on cast-resin transformers even in operation since it does not connect with high voltage conductor. The PD measurement system consists of the capacitive probe, a coupling network of 100 [kHz] low-cutoff frequency, and an amplifier with a gain of 40 [dB] and a frequency bandwidth of 500 [Hz]~45 [MHz]. A plane-needle and a plane-plane electrode system were fabricated to simulate insulation defects in a cast-resin transformer. Sensitivity of the PD measurement system, which is evaluated by a standard calibrator was 0.35 [mV/pC] for positive and 0.45 [mV/pC] for negative, respectively. The PD detection by the capacitive probe was less sensitive than that by a coupling capacitor according to IEC 60270, but we could analyze the magnitude and the phase distribution of PD pulse.