There is provided a metallic magnetic powder with which one can produce magnetic media for high-density recording that are improved in storage stability and magnetic characteristics.The improved ferromagnetic metal powder contains no more than 0.05 wt % of an element of Group Ia of the periodic table. The powder may optionally contain 0.1-30 atm % of aluminum and/or 0.1-10 atm % of Y or any other rare earth element based on the total quantity of the metal elements present. In either of these cases, the residue of an element of Group IIa of the periodic table is preferably 0.1 wt % or less.