Summary: The bending stiffness of twisted steel cords and two-ply reinforced rubber belt structure was investigated using a hierarchical three-dimensional beam finite element analysis. The three-dimensional beam element takes into account the coupled extension, bending, and twisting deformations. The finite element results of bending stiffness obtained for twisted cords and two-ply cord-rubber belt are compared to the experimental data and other alternative solutions available in the literature. The effects of cord orientation, anisotropy, twisted nature of cords, and rubber core surrounding the twisted cord on the bending stiffness properties are presented and discussed.