The authors describe a buffer overload control scheme, which adaptively matches the buffer input rate to prevailing conditions in the queueing system, for efficient utilisation of the system resources. They propose an adaptive feedback control algorithm which uses neural network modelling of the system dynamics and a gradient-based control optimisation technique for buffer overload control. Using a simple dynamic queueing model, it is shown that this technique can regulate buffer occupancy levels (or queueing delays) to minimise congestion in the queueing system. © IEE, 1998.