A tunneling magnetic sensing element includes a laminate in which a pinned magnetic layer having a magnetization direction pinned, an insulating barrier layer, and a free magnetic layer having a magnetization direction variable with an external magnetic field are laminated in order from below. The insulating barrier layer is made of Mg—O. The free magnetic layer has a soft magnetic layer and an enhanced layer disposed between the soft magnetic layer and the insulating barrier layer to have a spin polarization ratio higher than the soft magnetic layer. An insertion magnetic layer made of one selected from Co—Fe—B, Co—B, Fe—B, and Co—Fe is inserted into the soft magnetic layer in a direction parallel to the interface of each layer constituting the laminate, and the soft magnetic layer is divided into multiple layers in a thickness direction through the insertion magnetic layer.