A thermally-assisted magnetic recording head includes: a main pole and a plasmon generator disposed to align along the direction of travel of a recording medium; a first heat sink layer having two portions that are located on opposite sides of the plasmon generator in the track width direction; a second heat sink layer having two portions that are located on opposite sides of the main pole in the track width direction; and a nonmagnetic layer disposed between the plasmon generator and the main pole. The first and second heat sink layers are each made of SiC or AlN. The nonmagnetic layer is made of a material that is lower in thermal conductivity at 25° C. than alumina.