A magnetic recording medium and related method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium that has a protective layer for the magnetic recording medium and that exhibits excellent corrosion resistance in the protective layer. The magnetic recording medium includes on a nonmagnetic substrate a magnetic layer and a protective layer formed on the magnetic layer. The protective layer is formed of a lower layer in contact with the magnetic layer and an upper layer formed on the lower layer. The material used in the lower layer is a metal having a standard electrode potential of −0.8 to 0.3 V.