diff --git a/buffer/src/main/java/io/netty/buffer/CompositeByteBuf.java b/buffer/src/main/java/io/netty/buffer/CompositeByteBuf.java
index 636600b393..9329de9023 100644
--- a/buffer/src/main/java/io/netty/buffer/CompositeByteBuf.java
+++ b/buffer/src/main/java/io/netty/buffer/CompositeByteBuf.java
@@ -165,6 +165,10 @@ public class CompositeByteBuf extends AbstractByteBuf {
         return indices[components.length];
     }
 
+    public int numComponents() {
+        return components.length;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public byte getByte(int index) {
         int componentId = componentId(index);