A magnetic powder for magnetic recording is provided that has improved properties suitable for a magnetic recording medium used with a high-sensitivity read head utilizing an MR device. The magnetic powder is composed of iron-base acicular particles containing Co, Al, R (rare earth elements, including Y) and oxygen within the ranges of Co/Fe=10 50 at. %, dissolved Al/(Fe+Co)=5 50 at. %, R/(Fe+Co)=2 25 at. % and oxygen=not greater than 25 wt %; and the acicular particles have an average major axis length of 25 80 nm and a saturated magnetization .sigma.s of 10 130 emu/g,
A nonmagnetic powder, used for the nonmagnetic layer of a coated type magnetic recording medium having a multilayer structure, has good dispersibility in the binder in which it is dispersed to prepare a coating material that is applied to the nonmagnetic layer. The nonmagnetic powder has an iron compound as its principal component and exhibits a maximum pore volume value in a pore diameter range of 0.01 .mu.m to 0.05 .mu.m within a pore diameter range of 0.0018 .mu.m to 0.1 .mu.m in which the relationship between pore diameter and pore volume is calculated by a mercury injection method. The nonmagnetic powder exhibits a cumulative pore volume value in a pore diameter range of 0.0018 .mu.m to 0.01 .mu.m that is not more than 30% of the cumulative pore volume value in the pore diameter range of 0.0018 .mu.m to 0.1 .mu.m.
