This paper presents a method of inter-turn short-circuit identification in induction motors during load current variations based on a hybrid analytic approach that combines the genetic algorithm and simulated annealing. With this approach, the essence of the method relies on determining the reference matrices and calculating the distance between the reference matric values and the test matrix. As a whole, it is a novel approach to the process of identifying faults in induction motors. Moreover, applying a discrete optimization algorithm to search for alternative solutions makes it possible to obtain the true minimal values of the matrices in the identification process. The effectiveness of the applied method in the monitoring and identification processes of the inter-turn short-circuit in the early stage of its creation was confirmed in tests carried out for several significant state variables describing physical magnitudes of the selected induction motor model. The need for identification of a particular fault is related to a gradual increase in its magnitude in the process of the induction motor’s exploitation. The occurrence of short-circuits complicates the dynamic properties of the measured diagnostic signals of the system to a great extent.