Multilevel converter topologies have been receiving increased attention for medium and high power application in past years. This paper focuses on a new topology of 7-level multilevel inverter (MLI) named as improved H-bridge MLI (IHB MLI) with less number of switches than conventional type with 12 switches, which results in reduction of switching losses, switching stress and converter cost. This paper also presents the most relevant control technique, i.e. selective harmonic elimination technique. Harmonic mitigation in MLIs is a complex optimization problem that involves non-linear equations. Particle swarm optimization is used to solve these non-linear transcendental equations and thus switching angles are calculated. Switching angles corresponding to best objective value are used for designing the 7-level IHB MLI in MATLAB/Simulink. In addition, it is compared with the 5-level IHB MLI topology. To validate the proposed topology, the results obtained from the Simulink model, experimental model and simulation using PROTEUS were compared.