An optical recording medium is prepared by forming on a substrate a phase change recording layer comprising elements A, B, C and optional D wherein A is silver and/or gold, B is antimony and/or bismuth, C is tellurium and/or selenium, D is indium or a mixture of indium and aluminum and/or phosphorus. Formation of the recording layer is carried out by the step of sputtering an A--C base metal and the step of sputtering a B base metal optionally containing D in this successive order or reverse order; or by the step of sputtering an A--C base metal, the step of sputtering a B base metal, and the step of sputtering a D base metal in this successive order or reverse order. Since the resulting recording layer is already crystallized, the method eliminates a need for extra initialization.