Compared with the conventional two-level active power filter, the diode-clamped three-level active power filter has been widely studied and applied due to the lower switching frequency, the smaller output filter inductance and the higher withstand of voltage level. With three-level active power filter, through coordinate transformation to a single synchronous rotating coordinate system, the odd harmonics generated by nonlinear loads will transform into the characteristics of even harmonics. Therefore a complex control strategy put forward with half a cycle of repetitive control and PI control in parallel. Then introduce the parameters selection of PI controller and repetitive controller in detail, and analyze the stability and the error of the system, conducting modulation using space vector pulse width modulation technology. At last, the simulation through the MATLAB/Simulink software and the experiment both verify the correctness and feasibility of the proposed hybrid controllers.