In 2021, the world's total installed capacity of generation units based on renewable energy sources (not including hydropower) amounted to about 1674 GW: over 825 GW and 849 GW of wind and solar power plants were installed respectively. The growing of the installed capacity of these distributed generators is a response to the increasing the power consumption, global environmental issues and has also become possible due to the development of technology in field of power semiconductor devices. However, on the way of large-scale implementation of distributed generators based on renewable energy sources, traditional electric power system meets new challenges to ensure the reliability and sustainability of new electric power systems with renewable energy sources. In particular, distributed generators change processes in the electric power system, impact to the parameters and power balance, change the magnitude and direction of power flow and short-circuit current, which determines the need to update the settings of the relay protection and automation systems of traditional electric power system and to coordinate their operation with automatic control systems of installed distributed generators. The above-mentioned tasks form a number of scientific research directions, one of which is a task of determining optimal size and location of distributed generators. The main purpose of this optimization task is to reduce power losses, operating and total electricity cost, improve the voltage profile, etc. In addition, the correct and reasonable placement of distributed generators defines an effective planning of the operating modes of electric power system and power plants (especially based on renewable energy sources, the operating modes of which depend on weather conditions and can be sharply variable). The paper highlighted the impacts of distributed generators on power losses, the voltage level, maintaining the power balance and the possibility of participating in the frequency regulation, and short-circuit current in power system. The optimization criteria, the main limiting conditions, as well as methods for solving this optimization problem are considered. This review will help the System operators and investing companies, especially in Russia, to form the main aim, objective function and constraints that will aid to meet their load demand at minimum cost and to choose from the options available for optimization of location and capacity of distributed generators.