A method for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium is provided, by which a magnetic recording medium having a recording layer formed in a concavo-convex pattern, a sufficiently flat surface, and high recording and reproducing precision is efficiently manufactured. In a non-magnetic material filling step, a non-magnetic material is deposited over a recording layer formed in a predetermined concavo-convex pattern over a substrate to fill concave portions of the concavo-convex pattern with the non-magnetic material. In a flattening step, an excess part of the non-magnetic material above the recording layer is removed by dry etching, to flatten surfaces of the recording layer and the non-magnetic material. Processing conditions are set so as to substantially equalize an etching rate of the non-magnetic material with an etching rate of the recording layer with respect to the dry etching in the flattening step.