An ink jet recording medium having an ink receiving layer containing a binder which containing an acrylonitrile butadiene type copolymer, the butadiene concentration of the copolymer is 50 weight % or more, and an inorganic pigment on one or two sides of a base paper mainly composed of wood pulp, wherein the concentration ratio of the acrylonitrile butadiene type copolymer to 100 parts by weight of the inorganic pigment is from one part by weight to eight parts by weight, while 60 weight % or more of the inorganic pigment is kaolin with particles of 0.4 μm or more and below 4.2 μm which account for 64% or more as the cumulative value of the volumetric basis when measured using a laser diffraction method, and the surface roughness of the ink receiving layer is from 0.6 μm to 1.4 μm when a hard backing is used at a clamp pressure of 1,000 kPa according to JIS P8151.