The design and performance analysis of a power factor corrected (PFC), single-phase, single switch flyback buck-boost ac-dc converter is carried out for low power battery charging applications. The proposed configuration of the flyback buck-boost ac-dc converter consists of only one switch and operates in discontinuous current mode (DCM), resulting in simplicity in design and manufacturing and reduction in input current total harmonic distortion (THD). The design procedure of the flyback buck-boost ac-dc converter is presented for the battery charging application. To verify and investigate the design and performance, a simulation study of the flyback buck-boost converter in DCM is performed using the PSIM6.0 platform. A laboratory prototype of the proposed single switch flyback buck-boost ac-dc converter is developed and test results are presented to validate the design and developed model of the system.