In　deep　clustering　frameworks,　autoencoder　(AE)-　or　variational　AE-based　clustering　approaches　are　the　most　popular　and　competitive　ones　that　encourage　the　model　to　obtain　suitable　representations　and　avoid　the　tendency　for　degenerate　solutions　simultaneously.　However,　for　the　clustering　task,　the　decoder　for　reconstructing　the　original　input　is　usually　useless　when　the　model　is　finished　training.　The　encoder-decoder　architecture　limits　the　depth　of　the　encoder　so　that　the　learning　capacity　is　reduced　severely.　In　this　article,　we　propose　a　decoder-free　variational　deep　embedding　for　unsupervised　clustering　(DFVC).　It　is　well　known　that　minimizing　reconstruction　error　amounts　to　maximizing　a　lower　bound　on　the　mutual　information　(MI)　between　the　input　and　its　representation.　That　provides　a　theoretical　guarantee　for　us　to　discard　the　bloated　decoder.　Inspired　by　contrastive　self-supervised　learning,　we　can　directly　calculate　or　estimate　the　MI　of　the　continuous　variables.　Specifically,　we　investigate　unsupervised　representation　learning　by　simultaneously　considering　the　MI　estimation　of　continuous　representations　and　the　MI　computation　of　categorical　representations.　By　introducing　the　data　augmentation　technique,　we　incorporate　the　original　input,　the　augmented　input,　and　their　high-level　representations　into　the　MI　estimation　framework　to　learn　more　discriminative　representations.　Instead　of　matching　to　a　simple　standard　normal　distribution　adversarially,　we　use　end-to-end　learning　to　constrain　the　latent　space　to　be　cluster-friendly　by　applying　the　Gaussian　mixture　distribution　as　the　prior.　Extensive　experiments　on　challenging　data　sets　show　that　our　model　achieves　higher　performance　over　a　wide　range　of　state-of-the-art　clustering　approaches.　©　2012　IEEE.