This paper is devoted to the study of adaptive synchronization for fractional-order uncertain complex-valued competitive neural networks (FOUCVCNNs) using the non-decomposition method. Firstly, a new network model named FOUCVCNNs is proposed, which is not separated into two real-valued subsystems in order to keep its intrinsic speciality. In addition, a novel adaptive controller is designed to reduce the cost of control. Meanwhile, with the help of fractional Lyapunov theory, 1-norm analysis framework and inequality techniques, several effective synchronization criteria for FOUCVCNNs are obtained by constructing an appropriate Lyapunov function. Finally, the reliability of the results obtained is tested through numerical simulation.