A magnetic recording medium comprising a glass substrate having grooves on the
surface thereof, an orientation-determining layer, a non-magnetic undercoat layer,
a magnetic layer, and a protective film, the layers and film being successively
formed on the substrate. The orientation-determining layer contains at least one
element selected from the group consisting of Co, Ni, and Fe and at least one element
selected from the group consisting of W, Mo, Ta, and Nb.