Abstract: Objective To investigate the epidemiology and quality of qualitative research published in Chinese medical association journals. Methods Electronic search was conducted in CBM for the qualitative research published in Chinese medical association journals. Quality assessment was based on CASP checklist. Results 1 212 items were identified initially. After selecting and including, 309 articles met the criteria finally. The number of qualitative research is increasing yearly since 2001; study themes are distributed in nursery （28.16%）, internal medicine （19.74%）, medical education （14.56%）, oncology （10.03%） and other fields. 118 studies targeted patients as their participants, which owned the biggest proportion （38.19%）. The remaining studies targeted nursing workers, caregivers and medical students respectively. 89% of the included studies’ methods are in-depth interview, which is humdrum. After quality assessment, 225 articles had defects in research design, 240 articles had no reflexivity, and other problems were found in sampling, data collection, ethics and data analysis. The qualities of included articles are extremely weak in study design and reflection. In addition, data collection, data analysis and ethics should be strengthened as well. Conclusion The number of domestic qualitative research has increased yearly. However, there are still problems in the limited participants and humdrum methods. The quality of qualitative research should be strengthened, so as to scientifically carry out the evidence-based decisions based on qualitative research.