Frequency detuning of mode-locked fiber lasers displays many remarkable nonlinear dynamical behaviors. Here we report for the first time the evolution of pulses from mode-locking through period pulsation to Q-switched mode-locking for three fundamental cases. Our experiments are performed in a hybrid actively and passively amplitude-modulated all-fiber polarization-maintaining mode-locked fiber laser, where the amplitude modulation frequency artificially deviates from the fundamental frequency of the cavity. We design and numerically simulate the laser with coupled Ginzburg–Landau equations. The experimentally observed dynamics of the mode detuning process is discussed with the assistance of the fitted model and numerical simulations, showing the generalizability of the optical mode detuning variation process. Our work provides fundamental insights for understanding perturbations in nonlinear optical resonant cavities and expands the ideas for studying chaotic path theory in hybrid mode-locked fiber lasers.