The magnetic recording medium contains, in a magnetic layer, a fatty acid ester and a polyester resin having a number average molecular weight of greater than or equal to 1,000 but less than 20,000, and containing a structural unit derived from a polyvalent carboxylic acid and a structural unit derived from a polyol, as well as 10 mol % to 50 mol % of a structural unit, derived from a cyclic polyvalent carboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of an alicyclic polyvalent carboxylic acid and an aromatic polyvalent carboxylic acid, per 100 mol % of a combined total of the above structural units, and one or more partial structures selected from the group consisting of the following partial structures: wherein each of L1 and L2 independently denotes a divalent connecting group, and each of Z1 and Z2 independently denotes a monovalent group denoted by —OM or a monovalent group denoted by —O−A+.