A refrigeration cycle apparatus for effectively performing defrosting, in which a compressor (1), a four-way valve (11), a condenser (2), a throttling device (3), and an evaporator (4) are connected via pipes, including: discharge gas bypasses (31, 32, 33) for flowing a discharge refrigerant to at least one of a suction pipe (1b) of the compressor and an evaporator pipe (4a) for connecting the throttling device and the evaporator, from a discharge pipe (1a) for connecting the compressor and the four-way valve; and a refrigerant controller (40) capable of optionally flowing the discharge refrigerant to the discharge gas bypasses, wherein the discharge refrigerant of the compressor is partially passed through the discharge gas bypasses during defrosting in a heating operation, and a flow rate to the discharge gas bypasses is larger than a flow rate to the four-way valve.