Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM) is the multiple access scheme for the fourth generation(4G) wireless communications. This paper analyzes the performance of OFDM through the Bit Error Rate(BER), Outage Probability, and ergodic capacity with flat delay profile as well as linearly increasing power decay factor. The probability density function(PDF) obtained in a Rayleigh fading channel is used to derive a closed-form expression for the outage probability, error rates and ergodic capacity of OFDM signals. The exact error rate values are similar to those obtained from simulation results. The performance improves with more number of channel taps