A vertical magnetic recording medium exhibiting excellent noise characteristics in which magnetic interaction is reduced in a magnetic layer. The vertical magnetic recording medium (10) includes a nonmagnetic substrate (1), an underlying layer (2) formed directly or indirectly on the nonmagnetic substrate (1), and a magnetic layer (4) for recording magnetic information formed on the underlying layer (2), characterized in that the underlying layer (2) is composed of an alloy principally including two kinds of element, difference of standard free energy ΔG° for producing an oxide or a nitride of the both elements at room temperature is set not lower than 70 kJ/mol[O2 or N2], and crystal grains constituting the underlying layer (2) principally includes one of two elements having a higher ΔG°, and the grain boundary of the underlying layer (2) principally includes an oxide or a nitride of an element having a lower ΔG°.