Provided is a pre-charge circuit and a photovoltaic inverter. The pre-charge circuit includes an alternating current power source, a half-bridge rectifier, an auxiliary charging capacitor, a current limiting device and a controllable switch. The pre-charge circuit is connected to a target charging capacitor to form a voltage doubling rectifier circuit. A direct current side of the half-bridge rectifier is connected in parallel to the target charging capacitor, and an alternating current side of the half-bridge rectifier is connected to one end of the alternating current power source. One end of the auxiliary charging capacitor is connected to any one end of the target charging capacitor, and the other end of the auxiliary charging capacitor is connected to the other end of the alternating current power source.