Provided is a sputtering target for a magnetic recording film. The sputtering target has a peak intensity ratio (IG/ID) of a G-band to a D-band of 5.0 or more in Raman scattering spectrometry. It is an object of the present invention to produce a magnetic thin film having a granular structure without using a high cost co-sputtering apparatus and to provide a sputtering target, in particular, an Fe—Pt-based sputtering target for a magnetic recording film, where carbon particles are dispersed in the target. Since carbon is a material which is not susceptible to being sintered and is susceptible to form aggregates, a conventional carbon-containing sputtering target has the problem that detachment of carbon lumps occurs during sputtering to result in generation of a large number of particles on the film. The present invention also addresses the problem of providing a high density sputtering target that can overcome the disadvantages.