This paper develops a systematic analytical method to calculate the harmonic components of uncontrolled single and three phase rectifiers. Based on frequency domain linearity [6], the dc side voltage and current of discontinuous rectifiers are divided into on and off period segments, then through superposition, the analysis is greatly simplified. Similarly, the effects of the commutation and firing angle shift of continuous three phase rectifiers can be analyzed separately. Based on these analyses, simple expressions of the switching angle of discontinuous mode rectifier and the overlap period and firing angle shift of continuous three-phase rectifiers are obtained. All the calculations are purely algebraic, with high accuracy. The simulation results validated the proposed method.