Long-period gratings (LPGs) were fabricated in a side-hole fibe r (SHF) by using a pulsed CO_2laser.Sensing characteristics of this SHF-LPG to temperature,su rrounding refractive index and bending have been investigated experimentally.Experimental results show that the resonant wavelength of the SHF-LPG has a blue shift of 6.51nm with temperature increasing in a range from 20℃ to 80℃ with sensitivity of －0.11nm/℃,a blue shift with increasing sensitivity and surrounding refractive index ranging from 1.34to 1.44(the m aximum sensitivity is achieved when the surrounding refractive index reaches the effect ive index of the fiber cladding),and a red shift with bending-direction-dependent sensitiv ity up to 9.36nm/m－1.