Tabu search (TS) is a useful strategy that has been successfully applied to a number of complex combinatorial optimization problems. By guiding the search using flexible memory processes and accepting disimproved solutions at some iterations, TS helps alleviate the risk of being trapped at a local optimum. In this article, we propose TS-based heuristics for solving a class of clustering problems, and compare the relative performances of the TS-based heuristic and the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. Computational experiments show that the TS-based heuristic with a long-term memory offers a higher possibility of finding a better solution, while the TS-based heuristic without a long-term memory performs better than the others in terms of the combined measure of solution quality and computing effort required.