The present invention provides a perpendicular magnetic recording medium that reduces medium noise and achieves thermal stability of recording magnetization. This perpendicular magnetic recording medium has a substrate and a recording layer formed by single-layered magnetic nanoparticles that are aligned at uniform intervals. An auxiliary magnetic film that is thinner than the recording layer is interposed between the substrate and the recording layer. The magnetization of the magnetic nanoparticles is secured by the exchange interaction effect of the auxiliary magnetic film.