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• RVE method to homogenize an elasto-plastic spheres-reinforced FGM composite. • Implementation of the homogenization technique in VUMAT-VUSFLD into Abaqus/Explicit. • Formability of elasto-plastic spheres-reinforced FGM composite using a single point incremental forming process. • Effect of power-law index on Von Mises distributions, plastic deformation, and vertical forming force is investigated. In the present paper, as a first endeavor, homogenization of elasto-plastic functionally graded material (FGM) is investigated based on representative volume element (RVE) and used for the first time in the single point incremental forming (SPIF) process. The effective properties of elasto-plastic spheres-reinforced FGM composite are determined using the numerical RVE method and Mori-Tanaka model. In order to implement the homogenization equations and numerical algorithm into Abaqus Software, user-defined material, (VUMAT) and (VUSFLD) subroutines are employed. The accuracy of the proposed homogenization methodology is highlighted through comparisons of the present results with those taken from the literature and an excellent agreement is found. During SPIF process, the effect of the power-law index on the formability, plastic deformation, forming force along Z_direction and Von Mises distribution is analyzed. Parametric studies are conducted to show the influence of cone wall angle and sheet thickness on the formability and the thinning along the SPIF process. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]