Machine (10) and method to produce structural elements for the building trade made of cement material with one or more inserts (12) made of polymer material. The machine (10) comprises at least a molding member, a loading unit (15) for loading the inserts (12) and a depositing member (16) to deposit the cement material. The molding member is open at the upper part and the loading unit (15) and the depositing member (16) are selectively positionable above the molding member in order to load and deposit from above, respectively, the inserts (12) and the cement material into the molding member, in order to achieve the structural elements.