A systematically theoretical analysis of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based optical fiber sensor is carried out. A three-layer mode (fiber core/gold/sample) is used to simulate the SPR-based optical fiber sensor. Several parameters including the thickness of gold layer, numerical aperture (NA) of fiber, sensing region length and fiber core diameter have been investigated to evaluate the sensitivity and measurement accuracy of sensor. A detailed explanation for the effect of these parameters on the sensor is presented to give a guideline to optimally design the SPR-based optical fiber sensor. (C) 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.