An aspect of the present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium comprising a magnetic layer comprising ferromagnetic powder and binder on a nonmagnetic support, wherein an average particle size of the ferromagnetic powder is equal to or less than 50 nm, the magnetic layer further comprises a compound, and the compound comprises at least one polyalkyleneimine chain and at least one polyester chain, with a proportion in the compound accounted for by the polyalkyleneimine chain being less than 5.0 weight percent and a number average molecular weight of the polyalkyleneimine chain ranging from 300 to 3,000.