Qualitative research, with its roots deeply in practice, has been recognized as an undeniable research method in developing distinctive Chinese management theories. The trustworthiness of qualitative research ensures the explanation power and effectiveness of developed theories. However, the complexity of philosophical foundations of qualitative research confuses scholars on “how to assess and improve the trustworthiness of qualitative research”. This paper makes an attempt to explain the trustworthiness of diverse qualitative research methods from the two aspects of historical evolution and philosophical foundations, and give illustrations through published articles. Firstly, tracing the history of qualitative research, this paper finds that qualitative research tackles with the most important phenomenon in its era, with a specific focus on critical social units. Different social units require distinct qualitative research methods, so qualitative research is historically pluralistic. Second, from the perspectives of ontology and epistemology, this paper explains the three basic philosophical foundations of qualitative research methods: positivism, interpretivism, and social constructionism. After that, it selects and analyzes qualitative articles in top management journals to clearly illustrate the criteria in assessing the trustworthiness of three qualitative research methods, aiming to vividly show the approaches and actions of improving the trustworthiness of qualitative research. Third, this paper prospects the future of qualitative research and expects the evolution of the criteria in assessing the trustworthiness. In sum, from a historical and philosophical perspective, this paper provides a holistic and detailed explanation on the confusion of scholars on the trustworthiness of qualitative research, which sets the basis of developing distinctive Chinese management theories.