Example methods and systems for adaptive polling. One example may comprise operating in a polling mode to poll, from a network interface, zero or more packets that require packet processing by the network device. The method may also comprise: in response to detecting a non-zero polling round, adjusting a polling parameter to delay switching from the polling mode to a sleep mode. The method may further comprise: in response to detecting a zero polling round and determining that a switch condition is satisfied, adjusting a sleep parameter associated with the sleep mode based on traffic characteristic information associated with one or more polling rounds; and switching from the polling mode to the sleep mode in which polling from the network interface is halted based on the sleep parameter.