Having taken the lead after just 14 minutes fifth placed Wycombe were content to pack their defence and soak up the pressure from Rochdale in a very one-sided game.
A slip after just 30 seconds by Rochdale defender Marcus Holness presented the prolific Scott McGleish with a great opportunity but his effort was well saved by home keeper James Spencer.
The early exchanges were even but Wycombe took the lead when after an interchange of passes between Russell Martin and Matt Bloomfield the ball was fed into the box and pint-sized striker Leon Knight pounced to fire home from 12 yards.
The rest of the game was an exercise of attack versus defence but Rochdale could find no way through.
In the first half teenager William Buckley nearly marked his first start with a very good individual goal but having raced through the Wycombe defence he saw his angled drive go agonisingly wide.
Rochdale should have had a penalty midway through the first half when Buckley was upended in the box but with no help from his assistant referee Laws gave a free kick on the edge of the penalty area despite the protests from the home side but it was clearly inside the box.
Rochdale boss Keith Hill made three second-half substitutions and finished up with just a two-man defence as Wycombe gave up any intentions of attacking.
One of those substitutions Adam Le Fondre almost scored immediately but blazed his first touch wide with the goal at his mercy.
Le Fondre almost produced a brilliant individual goal later on with a turn in the box but saw his effort scrape the upright as Dale's frustrations continued.
With all the sides above them winning on the day Rochdale have lost ground in the play-off race, though they have three games in hand and will have to find some formula for picking up points at home if they are to challenge the top seven.