Disclosed is a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) unit for encoding and decoding still images based on the energy of each block. The DWT unit includes an energy calculating section for calculating energy of an input image in unit of a block having a predetermined number of pixels, an image decomposing section for performing three-level decomposition of the image of the block by decomposing a band at which a low frequency component is distributed three times, and a coefficient substituting section for substituting 0 (zero) for bands at which a high frequency component is distributed among the three-level decomposed bands.