The object of the present invention is to provide an optical recording medium which can respond to high-density and high recording linear velocity with recording linear velocity at 1.0× to 16× or more (recording linear velocity=approx. 3.5 m/s to 56 m/s or more), and a method and an apparatus for the optical recording and reproducing. Thus, the present invention provides an optical recording medium comprising a substrate and at least a recording layer and a reflective layer disposed on the substrate, in which any one of recording, reproducing, erasing, and rewriting of information is enabled by irradiating laser beam to the recording layer to induce a reversible phase change on the recording layer in which the reflectance (Rg) of the non-recorded portion in the case of the recording layer comprising Zn, Sn, and Sb and the laser beam wavelength being within the range of 650 nm to 665 nm is 12% to 30%.