A sputtering target for a magnetic recording film which contains carbon, the sputtering target is characterized in that the ratio (IG/ID) of peak intensities of the G-band to the D-band in Raman scattering spectrometry is 5.0 or less. The sputtering target for a magnetic recording film, which contains carbon powders dispersed therein, makes it possible to produce a magnetic thin film having a granular structure without using an expensive apparatus for co-sputtering; and in particular, the target is an Fe—Pt-based sputtering target. Carbon is a material which is difficult to sinter and has a problem that carbon particles are apt to form agglomerates. There is hence a problem that carbon masses are readily detached during sputtering to generate a large number of particles on the film after sputtering. The high-density sputtering target can solve these problems.