In the present article, we investigate the following deformation problem. Let (R,m) be a local (graded local) Noetherian ring with a (homogeneous) regular element y∈m and assume that R/yR is quasi-Gorenstein. Then is R quasi-Gorenstein? We give positive answers to this problem under various assumptions, while we present a counter-example in general. We emphasize that absence of the Cohen-Macaulay condition requires delicate and subtle studies.