Abstract This article proposes a new Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation (‘r’) based islanding detection scheme which utilizes negative sequence voltage and voltage unbalance signal. In order to check the legitimacy of the proposed technique, large numbers of non-islanding and islanding events are generated by modeling IEEE 34-bus network. This scheme detects islanding situation even under 0 % power mis-match condition and thus, reduces the non detection zone (NDZ). Furthermore, the proposed technique detects islanding situation quickly as well as remains stable during the critical non-islanding situation like faults on adjoining feeder having varying location and fault resistance. Moreover, the proposed technique remains immune to variation in external system condition and fundamental frequency. The performance of the proposed technique is comprehensively compared with the schemes currently reported in the literature. This comparison apparently demonstrates the benefits of the proposed technique over existing schemes.