Magnetic recording medium and magnetic memory

A magnetic recording medium includes at least a substrate, a recording layer formed of a non-magnetic underlying layer and a ferromagnetic thin film, deposited on the substrate, and a protective layer and a lubricant layer overlying the recording layer, a laminate layer is used as the protective layer, wherein a Young's modulus in a head pressing direction is twice or more larger than a Young's modulus in a head running direction.In this way, the durability of the magnetic disk can be significantly improved, and consequently, the protective layer can be made extremely thin, so that it can also contribute to an increased recording density.