An AFC magnetic recording medium having a three-layered ferromagnetic structure capable of reducing noises without deteriorating thermal stability is provided in order to achieve ultra-high recording density. In one embodiment, the AFC magnetic recording medium has a magnetic recording layer formed on a substrate via an underlayer, the magnetic recording medium consisting of a first ferromagnetic layer formed on the underlayer, a second ferromagnetic layer formed on the first ferromagnetic layer via a nonmagnetic layer inducing the antiferromagnetic interaction, and a third ferromagnetic layer formed on the second ferromagnetic layer, wherein the center of gravity G of the magnetic recording medium is defined using the distance tg from the upper surface of the third ferromagnetic layer as: tg=(Mst)eff/(2MS3); when the center of gravity G is at the third ferromagnetic layer, tg=((Mst)eff/2−MS3t3)/MS2+t3; when the center of gravity G is at the second ferromagnetic layer, and when the total film thickness of the magnetic recording layer is ttotal, the value tg/ttotal is lower than about 0.33.