Human　pose　estimation　in　crowded　scenes　is　a　challenging　task.　Due　to　overlap　and　occlusion,　it　is　difficult　to　infer　pose　clues　from　individual　keypoints.　We　proposed　PFFormer,　a　new　transformer-based　approach　that　treats　pose　estimation　as　a　hierarchical　set　prediction　problem　that　first　focuses　on　human　windows　and　coarsely　predicts　whole-body　poses　globally　within　them.　In　PFFormer,　we　designed　a　Windows　Clustering　Transformer　(WCT),　which　reorganizes　the　image　windows　by　filtering　the　attentive　windows　and　fusing　the　inattentive　ones,　allowing　the　transformer　to　focus　on　the　important　regions　while　reducing　the　interference　from　the　complex　background,　followed　by　compensating　for　the　loss　of　information　with　a　global　transformer.　Then　we　partition　the　learned　body　pose　into　a　set　of　structural　parts　and　perform　the　Inter-Part　Relation　Module　(IPRM)　to　capture　the　correlation　between　multiple　parts.　These　full-body　poses　and　component　features　are　refined　at　a　finer　level　through　the　Part-to-Joint　Decoder　(PJD).　Extensive　experiments　show　that　PFFormer　performs　favorably　against　its　counterpart　on　challenging　datasets,　including　COCO2017,　CrowdPose,　and　OChuman　datasets.　The　performance　of　crowded　scenes,　in　particular,　demonstrates　the　robustness　of　the　proposed　methods　to　deal　with　occlusion.　©　2023　Elsevier　Ltd