Component-Based Development (CBD) is a reuse technology Providing enhancement in productivity through using the unit of component which is larger-grained than an object. However, reference model defining the elements and semantics of CBD component is standardized neither internationally nor in industrial. This yields interoperability and portability problem between CBD platforms, and presents burden of choosing appropriate model to developers. In this paper, we define meta-models for representative component reference models, and identify advantages, disadvantages, and features of each model through technical comparison of meta-models. Besides, through a proposal of essential component model containing common and essential elements that all component models must conform and a extended component model containing maximum elements and mechanisms, we can precisely assess candidate component models in practice.