Community-based adaptation (CBA) emerged as a unique theory and approach to address adaptation deficit in developing countries. The evolution of community based adaptation clearly shows that it is advancing well and has potentials to provide strong basis for implementing adaptation priorities in developing countries. There are however issues and challenges around its scale of operation and gaps in wider institutionalization and scaling up within the mainstream development. Mainstreaming CBA will be an opportunity a head to address the governance issues and to ensure effective and efficient mobilization of resources to benefit the needy population. There is a need to explore practical context specific mechanism to mainstream community based adaptation in developing countries.