The stress distribution surrounding the fastener hole in thick laminate mechanical joints is complex. It is time-consuming to analyze the distribution using finite element method. To accurately and efficiently obtain the stress state around the fastener hole in multi-bolt thick laminate joints, a global-local approach is introduced. In the method, the most seriously damaged zone is 3D modeled by taking the displacement field got from the 2D global model as boundary conditions. Through comparison and analysis there are the following findings: the global-local finite element method is a reliable and efficient way to solve the stress distribution problem; the stress distribution around the fastener hole is quite uneven in through-the-thickness direction, and the stresses of the elements close to the shearing plane are much higher than the stresses of the elements far away from the shearing plane; the out-of-plane stresses introduced by the single-lap joint cannot be ignored due to the delamination failure; the stress state is a useful criterion for further more complex studies involving failure analysis. The stress distribution surrounding the fastener hole in thick laminate mechanical joints is complex. It is time-consuming to analyze the distribution using finite element method. global-local approach is introduced. In the method, the most seriously damaged zone is 3D modeled by taking the displacement field got from the 2D global model as boundary conditions. Through comparison and analysis there are the following findings: the global-local finite element method is a reliable and efficient way to solve the stress distribution problem; the stress distribution around the the hole distribution is stress in the-the-thickness-direction, and the stresses of the elements close to the shearing plane are much higher than the stresses of the elements far away from the shearing plane; the out-of-plane stresses introduced by the single-lap joint can not be ignored due to the del amination failure; the stress state is a useful criterion for further more complex studies involving failure analysis.