PURPOSE: To improve the S/N and to attain high-density recording by forming areas having a large refractive index and a small refractive inded of a transparent dielectric layer on the same plane at the upper part of a transparent substrate and providing an photomagnetic recording layer on the upper part of the dielectric layer.

CONSTITUTION: Transparent dielectric layers 12, 13 are formed on a transparent substrate 11 to laser light and the photomagnetic recoreing layer 14 is formed on the upper part. The dielectric layers 12, 13 are processed so that the area 12 having a relatively large refractive inded and the area 13 having small refractive inded are arranged on the same plane in advance before the recording layer 14 is formed. Either the area 13 or the area 12 is utilized as the optical guide. GdTbFe serving as a recording medium material is formed on the upper part of the dielectric layer having characteristics like this to form the photomagnetic recording medium 15. Thus, the track position of the light beam is detected easily, the reproduced S/N is increased to allow high-density recording.