Refractive index (RI) is one of the physical properties of material, such as boiling/ melting point, density, and elasticity. As one of the distinctive features of the material, measurement of the RI is nowadays used in many areas including the food, oil and petro-leum industry, biomedical applications, and environmental analysis. In recent years, fiber optic based refractometers become highly popular thanks to the advantages they provide compared to other methods used in the above-mentioned fields. In this context, two intrinsic fiber optic refractive index sensors were investigated in this thesis: long-period fiber grating (LPFG) based- and Fresnel reflection based- re-fractometers. The former examines the changes in the resonant wavelength interrogated by an Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA) whereas the latter uses SMF tip as sensing point interrogated by an Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) from a distant location. In the framework of the thesis, we first of all, provided a detailed field-specific literature survey giving an overview of the fiber optic-based refractive index sensors. Then, the operation principles of LPFG were studied including the modelling aspects of this sensing element. For this purpose, transmission spectra of LPFGs to external refrac-tive index changes have been simulated employing the two-layer fiber geometry. Next, the principles of Fresnel reflection-based sensor were investigated. Finally, experimental work was realized on different concentrations of glucose-water, glycerol-water solutions, and various chemicals. Our experimental results show an excellent agreement with the theory which demonstrated the capability of measuring RI of liquids for both methods investigated in the scope of thesis.