Abstract In this paper, performance modeling of finite state Markov chain (FSMC) for Nakagami- q and α – μ fading distributions over adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) schemes at the physical layer are discussed in detail, assuming that sufficient data is present to be transmitted continuously during the adaptive transmission period. However, this assumption is not always valid when queuing effects are taken into account at the data link layer. The received SNR obtained from a coded multiuser wireless system in the presence of a heavily shadowed environment is assumed to undergo a Nakagami- q (Hoyt distribution. Performance measures like level crossing rate, steady state probability, state transition probability and state time duration for Nakagami- q distribution and α – μ distribution are derived, plotted and analyzed. The BER for non-coherent FSK is shown to be much better than coherent FSK and PSK in the presence of Nakagami- q fading.