This paper defines the concept of “protectability” for the performance evaluation of distance relay considering its sensitivity and selectivity. The paper starts from the probabilistic modeling of the errors, and based on this model, a detailed explanation of protectability calculation for each zone of the distance relay is presented. An effect of the Weighting Rate and the Measurement Deviation on the protectability evaluation is also given. By considering this effect, the optimization of relay setting can be realized. The proposed method is applied to a typical model system to show its effectiveness