An optical recording medium is provided with a recording layer and a reflecting film on an optically transparent substrate. The principal component of the recording layer is a dye. Virtual recording cells are assumed within grooves on the recording layer and recording marks with five different levels or more of increasing size are formed on each of the virtual recording cells by modulating the irradiation time of the laser beam in five levels or more in correspondence to the information to be recorded. The reflectance of the virtual recording cells modulates in many levels and the reflection level of the reading laser beam during regeneration is changed in five levels or more. The optically transparent substrate is made of a plastic with a glass transition point (Tg) of 160° C. or less. The reflecting film is a metal with a coefficient of thermal conductivity of 300 k/W·m−1·K−1 or more and a film thickness of 50 nm or more.