  We propose a new and realistic 3-3-1 model with the minimal lepton and scalar
contents, named the simple 3-3-1 model. The scalar sector contains two new
heavy Higgs bosons, one neutral H and another singly-charged H^\pm, besides the
standard model Higgs boson. There is a mixing between the Z boson and the new
neutral gauge boson (Z'). The \rho parameter constrains the 3-3-1 breaking
scale (w) to be w>460 GeV. The quarks get consistent masses via
five-dimensional effective interactions while the leptons via interactions up
to six dimensions. Particularly, the neutrino small masses are generated as a
consequence of the approximate lepton-number symmetry of the model. The proton
is stabilized due to the lepton-parity conservation (-1)^L. The hadronic FCNCs
are calculated that give a bound w>3.6 TeV and yield that the third quark
generation is different from the first two. The correct mass generation for top
quark implies that the minimal scalar sector as proposed is unique. By the
simple 3-3-1 model, the other scalars beside the minimal ones can behave as
inert fields responsible for dark matter. A triplet, doublet and singlet dark
matter are respectively recognized. Our proposals provide the solutions for the
long-standing dark matter issue in the minimal 3-3-1 model.
