This paper presents experimental studies for the production and propagation of an electron beam from a single gap pseudospark discharge based plasma cathode electron (PCE) gun. The generated electron beam has been successfully propagated for more than 25 cm in a gaseous environment without application of external guiding magnetic field at different operating conditions. The electron beam losses due to recombination with ions and collision with walls of drift space have been estimated. The electron beam profile has also been analyzed in the drift region of the gun. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.