The spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Escherichia coli is a complex process linked with various mobile genetic elements (MGEs) like plasmids, transposons, and integrons. This study aimed to determine the co-occurrence of ESBL and mcr-1 and their physical linkage with MGEs in E. coli. E. coli strains of chicken origin were obtained from different commercial farms of eastern China from 2010 to 2011. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing, identification of different antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), and prevalence and evidence involvement of integrons, ISEcp1, ISCR1, and ISApl1, were determined. A multiplex PCR was used to detect virulence genes and the phylogenetic clustering of isolates. Conjugation experiments, plasmid replicon typing were performed to know the transferability of ARGs and MGEs. A total of 83.33% of isolates were found to be multidrug-resistant (MDR). The incidence rate of bla_CTX-M, bla_SHV, bla_TEM, and mcr-1 was found to be 30%, 10.95%, 8.09%, and 36.66%, respectively. The most prevalent combination was noticed for mcr-1 and bla_CTX-M 73%, whereas the most prominent bla_CTX-M alleles found, were bla_CTX-M-55 46%, followed by bla_CTX-M-14 31%, and bla_CTX-M-15 13%. The frequency of ISEcp1, ISCR1, ISApl1, and int1 was 27.77%, 53.70%, 51.85%, and 70.37% respectively. Most β-lactamases, especially bla_CTX-M, bla_SHV, and bla_TEM, were associated with ISEcp1, ISCR1, and Integron 1, whereas the ISAPl1-mcr-1 segment was observed in mcr-1-positive E. coli isolates. Phylogrouping revealed that group A was the most predominant phylotype, whereas the common virulence genes detected in these isolates were EHEC, EAEC, and EPEC. Conjugation assay also indicated that multiple genetic elements were involved; common plasmids identified were FIB 61.11%, followed by IncHI2 48.14%, and FrepB 33.33%. Propagation of such MDR strains carrying multiple resistance elements among the bacterial population is a threat of worry.