The influence on photonic crystal fiber dispersion of the size of air holes in different rings within the cladding is investigated using a semivectorial finite difference method. Numerical results reveal that the photonic crystal fiber dispersion is more sensitive to the variation of the air hole size in the first and second rings, indicating that design of photonic crystal fibers with desirable dispersion properties requires more precise control of the parameters of the air holes in the vicinity of the fiber core.