According to one embodiment, a memory system includes a nonvolatile memory including a plurality of blocks and a controller. The controller manages a garbage collection count for each of blocks containing data written by a host, the garbage collection count indicating the number of times the data in said each of the blocks has been copied by a garbage collection operation of the nonvolatile memory. The controller selects, as garbage collection target blocks, first blocks associated with a same garbage collection count. The controller copies valid data in the first blocks to a copy destination free block. The controller sets, as a garbage collection count of the copy destination free block, a value obtained by adding one to a garbage collection count of the first blocks.