A magnetic recording medium includes a substrate, an underlayer provided above the substrate, and a magnetic layer provided on and in contact with the underlayer. The underlayer includes a compound represented by a general formula MgO(1-x), where x falls within a range of 0.07 to 0.25. The magnetic layer includes an alloy having a L10 structure, and the alloy having the L10 structure includes one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Al, Si, Ga, and Ge.