An optical sensor is designed to support the Fano effect based on a compound resonant waveguide grating (CRWG). The transmission spectra of the CRWG are investigated by utilizing a theoretical method that combines the temporal coupled mode theory with the eigenmode information of the grating structure. The theoretical results, which are observed to agree closely with those acquired by rigorous coupled-wave analysis, show that the linewidth of the transmission spectrum decreases upon increasing the distance between the grating strips, and the central resonance frequency decreases as the refractive index of the analyte increases. Here, the proposed CRWG structures will find potential uses in optical sensing.