The utilization of fixed capacitors (FCs) in shunt connection is one of the common methods to improve the power quality of distribution systems. In this paper, a novel optimization technique called Ant lion optimizer (ALO) is used to determine the optimal generated VARs capacity and locations of FCs. The objective functions are adopted to minimize the total distribution power loss and the total annual cost. The ALO is performed its ability to cover medium and large scales radial distribution systems (RDS) such as; IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus test systems. The Numerical results illustrate that the Ant lion optimizer (ALO) offer optimal solutions properly better than many other reporter heuristic algorithms.