The cross-phase modulation (XPM) effect in fiber links with dispersion compensated by chirped fiber Bragg gratings (CFBGs) is analyzed here for the first time. A continuous-wave (CW) signal, referred to as a probe, is used to investigate the impact of XPM on communication systems. The result shows that the XPM in systems using CFBGs as dispersion compensators is greatly suppressed, compared with that of systems using dispersion compensated fiber (DCF). The difference of the dispersion management between the system using DCF and that using CFBGs is demonstrated, too. (C) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.