A magnetic recording medium, consisting of a base coated with a magnetic coating material, uses as a binder a polyurethane resin having a metal sulfonate group, a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer containing not less than 8% vinyl alcohol on the basis of the total binder weight, and nitrocellulose, in which magnetic particles are dispersed. The binder may contain an isocyanate compound as a crosslinking agent for added particle dispersibility.