A refractive index optical fiber sensor based on surface plasmon resonance technology is demonstrated. The sensing device is a multimode optical fiber in which half of the core is polished away and a thin-film layer of gold is deposited. We measure the spectrum-difference variations and the resonance wavelength shifts for different refractive index solutions. In terms of the experimental data, the characteristics including resolution, sensitivity, and signal-to-noise ratio for the sensor are obtained. V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:574-576, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com.