In this work, we propose a D-shaped photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based surface plasmon resonance sensor with a V-groove analyte channel for the detection of analytes and numerically analyze its sensing performance for a wide range of liquid analytes. In a stand out to the usual D-shaped fiber, we design a separate V-groove for holding the analyte sample, which not only minimizes the sample quantity but also reduces the metal coating region. By using the finite element method, we find that the proposed PCF sensor has a maximum wavelength sensitivity of 31,600 nm/RIU for a sensing range of 1.33–1.43 with a resolution of 3.16 × 10−6 RIU. Besides, the numerical results corroborate that the proposed sensor is robust against the variations of structural parameters. Thus, the proposed sensor is suitable for detecting biomolecules, organic and chemical samples. As the proposed sensor exhibits promising sensing performance, we envisage that the sensor could be engaged in various fields of chemical and biosensing applications. © 2020 Elsevier GmbH