<p>A magnetic recording medium is disclosed, in which a magnetic layer is formed on one surface of the non-magnetizable substrate and a back coating layer consisting essentially of a binder and a non-magnetizable pigment is formed on the other surface of the substrate. In the back coating layer, more than 80 weight percent of the binder is a polyurethane resin or a polyester resin having hydrophilic polar groups. The back coating layer also contains carbon black for preventing electrostatic charging and pigments with Mohs hardness higher than 5 for improving durability. The carbon black to the pigments weight ratio is set to be in the range of 95:5 to 60:40.</p>