[3] The Philippine Daily Inquirer was founded on December 9, 1985, by publisher Eugenia Apóstol, columnist Max Solivén, together with Betty Go-Belmonte during the last days of, and becoming one of the first private newspapers to be established under the Marcos regime.

[4] As the successor to the previous Mr. & Ms. Special Edition and the weekly Philippine Inquirer, it was founded on a budget of ₱1 million and enjoyed a daily circulation of 30,000 in its early days.

Its slogan, Balanced News, Fearless Views, was incorporated to the newspaper in January 1986 after a slogan-making contest held during the first month of the Inquirer's existence.

In July 1986, questions about finances and a divergence of priorities caused a rift among the founders that led Belmonte, Soliven, and Art Borjal's split from the Inquirer to establish The Philippine Star.

[5] As Belmonte owned the Star Building where the Inquirer was headquartered, the newspaper amicably transferred to the Soliven-owned BF Condominium on Aduana Street, Intramuros.

In 1999, several government organizations, pro-Estrada businesses, and movie producers simultaneously pulled their advertisements from the Inquirer in a boycott that lasted for five months.

[8] Malacañang Palace was widely implicated in the advertising boycott, which publisher Isagani Yambot denounced as an attack on the freedom of the press.

According to the company's website the newspaper has over 2.7 million nationwide readers daily, it enjoys a market share of over 50% and tops the readership surveys.