An aspect of the present invention relates to a magnetic recording medium comprising a coating layer on a nonmagnetic support, wherein the coating layer comprises a nonmagnetic layer comprising a nonmagnetic powder and a binder and a magnetic layer comprising a ferromagnetic powder and a binder in this order, the nonmagnetic support comprises a main component in the form of a resin obtained by mixing and/or copolymerizing a polyester and a polymer having compatibility with the polyester, has a glass transition temperature of equal to or higher than 80° C. but less than 125° C., and has a heat absorption peak, based on enthalpy relaxation, ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 J/g. Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium.