diff --git a/src/depcheck/config.py b/src/depcheck/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da271b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/depcheck/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+"""Configuration system for depcheck."""
+
+import fnmatch
+import os
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Optional
+
+import yaml
+
+from depcheck.models import Severity
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Config:
+    """Configuration for depcheck."""
+
+    ignore_patterns: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)
+    ignore_packages: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)
+    fail_level: Severity = Severity.MEDIUM
+    output_format: str = "terminal"
+    verbose: bool = False
+    quiet: bool = False
+    include_dev: bool = True
+    package_managers: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)
+
+
+def load_config(config_path: Optional[Path] = None) -> Config:
+    """Load configuration from file."""
+    config = Config()
+
+    if config_path is None:
+        config_path = _find_config_file()
+
+    if config_path and config_path.exists():
+        try:
+            content = config_path.read_text()
+            data = yaml.safe_load(content) or {}
+        except (yaml.YAMLError, OSError):
+            return config
+    else:
+        return config
+
+    if "ignore_patterns" in data:
+        config.ignore_patterns = data["ignore_patterns"]
+
+    if "ignore_packages" in data:
+        config.ignore_packages = data["ignore_packages"]
+
+    if "fail_level" in data:
+        try:
+            config.fail_level = Severity(data["fail_level"])
+        except ValueError:
+            pass
+
+    if "output" in data:
+        output = data["output"]
+        if "format" in output:
+            config.output_format = output["format"]
+        if "verbose" in output:
+            config.verbose = output["verbose"]
+        if "quiet" in output:
+            config.quiet = output["quiet"]
+
+    if "include_dev" in data:
+        config.include_dev = data["include_dev"]
+
+    if "package_managers" in data:
+        config.package_managers = data["package_managers"]
+
+    return config
+
+
+def _find_config_file() -> Optional[Path]:
+    """Find config file in current dir or XDG locations."""
+    current_dir = Path.cwd()
+    config_path = current_dir / ".depcheck.yaml"
+    if config_path.exists():
+        return config_path
+
+    xdg_config = os.environ.get("XDG_CONFIG_HOME", str(Path.home() / ".config"))
+    xdg_config_path = Path(xdg_config) / "depcheck" / ".depcheck.yaml"
+    if xdg_config_path.exists():
+        return xdg_config_path
+
+    return None
+
+
+def should_ignore_package(config: Config, package_name: str) -> bool:
+    """Check if a package should be ignored."""
+    for pattern in config.ignore_packages:
+        if fnmatch.fnmatch(package_name, pattern):
+            return True
+    return False
+
+
+def should_ignore_file(config: Config, file_path: Path) -> bool:
+    """Check if a file should be ignored."""
+    for pattern in config.ignore_patterns:
+        if pattern in str(file_path):
+            return True
+    return False