The elastic properties of the interface structure of nanodiamond composite films are investigated using first-principles calculations. The nanodiamond grains in the films are surrounded by a monolayer heterogeneous interface. The interface phase comprises B, Si, P, and Ge. The elastic constants, bulk, shear and Young's modulus of the interface structures are all obtained with first principle calculations. Calculated elastic constants of the diamond (0 0 1) interface are larger than those of the (1 1 1) interface. For the B, Si, P, and Ge interface structures, as the average atomic distance increases, the average Young's modulus decrease, which follows the sequence (E) over bar (B) > (E) over bar (Si) > (E) over bar (P) > (E) over bar (Ge), with corresponding values of 927.05, 843.841, 840.152, and 819.805 GPa. The ductility and plasticity, as well as the anisotropy values (A and A(U)) of the interface structures were discussed based on the obtained mechanical parameters. The results show that P interface structures demonstrate ductile property when stressed longitudinally, whereas the other interface structures are all brittle. Then the visualization of the directional dependence of the Young's modulus are also presented. These reflected an interesting results. For the B, Si, and Ge interface structures, whether they show isotropy or anisotropy depends on the crystal structure, while it depends on the direction of the applied strain for the P interface structures. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.