Abstract. The need of fitting time series characterized by the presence of trend or change points has generated in latest years an increased interest in the investigation of non-stationary probability distributions. Considering that the available hydrological time series can be recognized as the observable part of a stochastic process with a definite probability distribution, two main topics can be tackled in this context: the first one is related to the definition of an objective criterion for choosing whether the stationary hypothesis can be adopted, while the second one regards the effects of non-stationarity on the estimation of distribution parameters and quantiles for assigned return period and flood risk evaluation. Although the time series trend or change points can be recognized using classical tests available in literature (e.g. Mann–Kendal or CUSUM test), for design purpose it is still required the correct selection of the stationary or non-stationary probability distribution. By this light, the focus is shifted toward model selection criteria which implies the use of parametric methods with all related issues on parameters estimation. The aim of this study is to compare the performance of parametric and non-parametric methods for trend detection analysing their power and focusing on the use of traditional model selection tools (e.g. Akaike Information Criterion and Likelihood Ratio test) within this context. Power and efficiency of parameter estimation, including the trend coefficient, were investigated through Monte Carlo simulations using Generalized Extreme Value distribution as parent with selected parameter sets.