The invention discloses a single-phase three-level inverter, which comprises an input capacitor, six power switches, two freewheel diodes and a single-phase output filter. The inverter performs switch motion by utilizing the six power switches and the two freewheel diodes cooperatively, so that when the output voltage of the inverter is a zero level, an output alternating current (AC) side and aninput direct current (DC) side of the inverter are positioned in a decoupling state; therefore, the output voltage of the inverter realizes three levels, the common-mode voltage of the inverter is a constant, and common-mode current is completely eliminated. The problem of imbalanced capacitor voltage caused by parasitic capacitance of a power switching device is solved in the circuit; therefore,a working mechanism without leakage current cannot be damaged, and the control means is simple; moreover, the circuit and a dead-zone working mechanism are reliable, and the working stability of the circuit is high. Due to the adoption of a unipolar pulse width modulation mode, the output current ripple of the inverter is low, copper loss and magnetic loss on a filtering inductor are low, and thequality of the output electric energy is high.