A magneto-optical storage medium that protects against the effects of cross-talk,
making it possible to further reduce the level of track density, and which also
makes it possible to conduct high-density recording/playback with a reduced magnetic
field for erasure and a favorable level of playback signal quality. More specifically,
a magneto-optical storage medium, which includes at least the following laminated
layers, in the following order: a playback layer, a non-magnetic layer, a transfer
layer, a cut-off layer, and a recording layer. The playback layer preferably displays
easy in-plane magnetization characteristics within the monolayer at room temperature,
and the transfer layer and the recording layer each have easy magnetization characteristics
in the vertical direction of the monolayers at room temperature when each layer
is considered as a monolayer. In addition, if the Curie temperature for the cut-off
layer is designated as Tcs, and the Curie temperature for the recording
layer is designated as Tck, then TcsTck.