Abstract In this paper, a phytoplankton–zooplankton model with toxic liberation delay is considered. Firstly, the critical values of Hopf bifurcation, transcritical bifurcation and Hopf-transcritical bifurcation are given, and to give more detailed information about the periodic oscillations, the direction and stability of Hopf bifurcation is studied by using the normal-form theory and center manifold theorem. Then, we give the detailed bifurcation set by calculating the universal unfoldings near the Hopf-transcritical bifurcation point. Finally, we show that the plankton system may exhibit quasi-periodic oscillations, which are verified both theoretically and numerically, and explain the experimental observed fluctuation phenomenon of plankton population.