Abstract In this paper, we consider the nonlinear pulse propagation through a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) structure wherein the nonlinearity includes both cubic and quintic effects. We study theoretically the formation of bright grating solitons in such a FBG when the carrier frequency of a nonlinear laser pulse is detuned out of the proper edge of the photonic bandgap (PBG). By using multiple scale analysis, we investigate the generation of the bright soliton near the PBG with the higher order linear and nonlinear effects. We also study the impact of quintic nonlinearity on the dispersion curves by deriving the nonlinear dispersion relation from the governing equations.