The study presents a theoretical modeling and analysis for the purpose of designing of acoustic devices and sensors with high performance. The propagation of Rayleigh-type waves in a piezoelectric substrate guided with fiber-reinforced layer is studied. Lord-Shulman (L-S) theory is used for thermoelasticity for both layer and substrate. Direct Sturm-Liouville method is employed to obtain the dispersion relation using traction free, thermally insulated, electrically open and short boundary conditions. The effect of different material parameters (e.g., reinforce, thickness ratio, and amplitude of thermal displacement) on the velocity (phase and group) of the considered wave are shown graphically by taking suitable numerical examples. The effect of specific loss factor is presented through graph. The present study may be utilized for better optimization of surface acoustic wave devices and sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]