A novel organometallic chromophore with potential infrared (IR) chemical sensing property, named as N’-(2-pyridinyl)-N-phenylurea tricarbonyl chromium, was synthesized and systematically characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectra (MS) and elemental analysis. The recognition and IR sensing behavior toward fluoride and acetate anions was investigated in chloroform. The results of IR titration indicated that, when the concentration of the two anions was greater than 10-5 mol·L-1, a good linear relationship between the stretching vibration of metal carbonyl of N’-(2-pyridinyl)-N-phenylurea tricarbonyl chromium and the concentration of the two anions was observed, which exhibits expected application in trace analysis of fluoride and acetate with detection error less than 5%.