Featured is a recording and reproducing method of a magneto-optical recording medium including a recording layer for recording thereon information magneto-optically and a readout layer which has in-plane magnetization at room temperature and where a transition occurs from in-plane magnetization to perpendicular magnetization as temperature raises. The method includes projecting a light beam onto such a magneto-optical recording medium so as to form a perpendicularly magnetized area in the readout layer by duplication of the magnetization of said recording layer to the area. In further embodiments, the recording medium further includes an intermediate layer made of non-magnetic film formed between the readout and recording layers and the readout and recording layers are composed of rare-earth transition metal alloys such as TbFeCo (recoding layer) readout layer, made of GdFeCo (readout layer).