Embodiments of the present invention provide a perpendicular magnetic recoding medium capable of decreasing exchange coupling between crystal grains while suppressing increase in the crystal grain size of the magnetic recording layer. According to one embodiment, a perpendicular magnetic recoding medium is formed by stacking a seed layer, an intermediate layer, a magnetic recording layer, and a protecting layer all above a substrate. The magnetic recording layer has a granular structure constituted of a plurality of columnar grains comprising a CoCrPt alloy and a grain boundary containing an oxide. The seed layer is formed by stacking a first seed layer, a second seed layer, and a third seed layer in which the first seed layer comprises Ti or Ti alloy having a hexagonal close-packed structure, the second seed layer comprises Cu, Ag, or Al having a face-centered cubic structure or an alloy containing at least one element selected therefrom, and the third seed layer comprises an Ni alloy having a face-centered cubic structure.