In order to study the mechanical properties of white cardboard, bamboo skin and paulownia used by structure design contest for college students, the LDS-5 electronic tensile testing machine was used to carry out the axial tension test on 222 specimens, to investigate the stress performance of white cardboard, bamboo skin and paulownia in the condition of different thickness, width and length. The results showed that the breakage of all specimens of the three materials occurred at the normal section, and the breakage of a few specimens of the bamboo skin and paulownia occurred at the oblique section. In the course of the specimens' loading, because the tension was exerted eccentrically, the ultimate bearing capacity of specimens was weakened. White cardboard specimens' length change had no significant effect on ultimate bearing capacity of the specimens. Bamboo skin materials' ultimate strength showed a nonlinear growth with thickness increases. Considering the strength, structural weight and other factors, the 0.35 mm-thickness bamboo skin materials were most suitable for the production of cable structures. Elastic modulus and ultimate tensile strength of different materials, as well as the fitting formula of relationship between ultimate bearing capacity of tension member (P_u) and widget width (D) were obtained, to provide a more scientific design basis for students' structure design and to provide a more accurate performance data for structure simulation analysis.