The perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes a non-magnetic underlayer composed of Ru or an Ru alloy having a columnar structure in which crystalline particles are isolated from each other by a space, a non-magnetic granular layer provided on the non-magnetic underlayer and composed of crystalline particles and a non-soluble phase and a granular magnetic layer provided on the non-magnetic granular layer and composed of CoCrPt alloy crystalline particles and the non-soluble phase, wherein when a lattice constant in an in-plane direction of the non-magnetic underlayer is a1, the lattice constant in the in-plane direction of the non-magnetic granular layer is a2, and the lattice constant in the in-plane direction of the granular magnetic layer is a3, the relation a1>a2>a3 is satisfied.