A metal-dielectric subwavelength grating structure was investigated for making single-peak narrow linewidth optical reflection filters in the near-infrared region. The subwavelength grating filter structure consists of a one-dimensional periodic array of metal (gold) and dielectric (Al2O3) elements on a dielectric substrate. Optimized reflection filters have a single reflection peak with ~10 nm linewidth in the infrared region over a wide spectral band. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations and multipole analysis show that the narrow linewidth reflection is due to the coupling of the Rayleigh anomaly wave to the quadrupole plasmon resonance mode of the subwavelength metal-dielectric grating. Additionally, it was found that the contrast of the indices of refraction of two dielectric materials in the subwavelength structure is critical for realizing optical filter effect.