A system and method can support queue processing in a computing environment such as a distributed data grid. A thread can be associated with a queue in the computing environment, wherein the thread runs on one or more microprocessors that support a central processing unit (CPU). The system can use the thread to process one or more tasks when said one or more tasks arrive at the queue. Furthermore, the system can configure the thread to be in one of a sleep state and an idle state adaptively, when there is no task in the queue.