An Adini-Q 1 -P 3 finite element method is introduced to solve general elastic multi-structure problems, where displacements on bodies, longitudinal displacements on plates, longitudinal displacements and rotational angles on rods are discretized by conforming linear (bilinear or trilinear) elements, and transverse displacements on plates and rods are discretized by Adini elements and Hermite elements of third order, respectively. The unique solvability and optimal error estimates in the energy norm are established for the discrete method, whose numerical performance is illustrated by some numerical examples.