A magnetic recording medium which exhibits excellent magnetic characteristics and which can be easily produced is disclosed. A magnetic recording medium containing a non-metallic substrate 1, a non-magnetic undercoat film 3, a cobalt alloy hexagonal closed packed (hcp) (110) textured magnetic film 4, and a protective film 5 formed on the substrate. An orientation-determining film 2, which determines the crystal orientation of an undercoat film provided directly thereon to cause the texture of the undercoat film to be (200), is formed between the substrate 1 and the undercoat film 3. The orientation-determining film 2 has a crystal structure such that columnar fine crystal grains 2a are inclined in a radial direction of the substrate 1, and the ratio of a coercive force in a circumferential direction of the medium (Hcc) to a coercive force in a radial direction of the medium (Hcr); i.e., Hcc/Hcr, is more than 1.