[en] Electron beam sources have been much demand for the rapidly growing fields such as sterilization, biohazard prevention and biophysics. An unconventional electron beam source, named as plasma focus, might be an efficient source for the aforementioned fields. In this article, the electron beam emission from a plasma focus has been characterized with an aim to use the device for electron beam sterilization. A fast response charge collector coupled with Rogowski coil was used to characterize electron beam. A typical electron beam current at an optimum pressure of nitrogen gas was found to be greater than 10 kA. Using self-bias technique an average electron energy distribution function was determined and the distribution function showed that most probable energetic electron is confined within 80 to 110 keV. The peak value of electron energy is found to be around 200 keV and the lowest value is around a few tens of keV. Our study shows that the PF emits poly-energetic beam of electrons. In near future, the electron beam will be utilized for sterilization purpose. (author)