To improve location speed, accuracy and reliability, this paper proposes a fault location method for distribution networks based on the time matrix of fault traveling waves. First, an inherent time matrix is established according to the normalized topology of the target distribution network, and a post-fault time matrix is obtained by extracting the head data of initial waves from traveling wave detection devices. A time determination matrix is then obtained using the difference operation between the two matrices. The features of the time determination matrix are used for fault section identification and fault distance calculation, to accurately locate faults. The method is modified by considering economic benefits, through the optimal configuration of detection devices of traveling waves when calculating fault distances. Simulation results show that the proposed method has good adaptation with higher fault location accuracy than two other typical ones. It can deal with faults on invalid branches, and the error rate is under 0.5% even with connected DGs.