Abstract. Component adaptation needs to be taken into account when developing trustworthy systems, where the properties of component assemblies have to be reliably obtained from the properties of its constituent components. Thus, a more systematic approach to component adaptation is required when building trustworthy systems. In this paper, we illustrate how (design and architectural) patterns can be used to achieve component adaptation and thus serve as the basis for such an approach. The paper proposes an adaptation model which is built upon a classification of component mismatches, and identifies a number of patterns to be used for eliminating them. We conclude by outlining an engineering approach to component adaptation that relies on the use of patterns and provides additional support for the development of trustworthy component-based systems.