Abstract: A kind of transition finite element is developed. In coordinative combination with standard iso-parametric solid （or plane） elements and super-parametric shell （or plane beam） elements of the same order, this kind of transition element can be used to deal with non-standard joint combined structures such as solid-shell or tensile plate-plane beam structures.The procedure to develop this kind of transition element is as follows. On an interface or an edge of a standard iso-parametric solid element or on a boundary line of a standard iso-parametric plane element, the corresponding nodes of a super-parametric shell （or plane beam） element of the same order are placed instead of the nodes of the original solid （or plane） element. The shape functions for remained solid （or plane） element type nodes are the same as the corresponding ones for a standard iso-parametric solid （or plane） element. As regards shell （or plane beam） element type nodes the same shape functions are adopted as for a standard super-parametric shell（or plane beam） element.The formulation of equations for the quadratic transition element is presented in detail.The numerical results obtained have shown that this kind of transition finite element is very effective.