The invention discloses a method and device for locating the leakage position of an HDPE membrane through a stress wave. The method comprises the steps: employing a plurality of vibration detectors, laid under the HDPE membrane, for monitoring a stress wave generated during the cracking of the HDPE membrane, converting a received mechanical signal into an electric signal, and recording the arrivaltime of the stress wave; carrying out the modulation amplification and noise filtering of the electric signal through the signal conditioning circuit; transmitting the conditioned electric signal toa main control chip of a data collector for storage after the analog-digital conversion of the conditioned electric signal through an A/D conversion circuit; extracting the information in the data collector through a data processing terminal, carrying out the analysis of the information, so as to judge the generation moment of a new focus and obtain the coordinates of the cracking position of theHDPE membrane. According to the invention, the method can solve a problem of first pollution second discovery in a conventional method, and remarkably improves the resolution of a positioning model.