Optical recording medium

An optical recording medium including a recording layer and a substrate, in which light is irradiated to the recording layer to conduct a phase change of said recording layer between an amorphous phase and a crystal phase to thereby record/erase information into/from the recording layer thereby enabling to rewrite the information through the change of optical characteristics by the phase change,

• wherein said optical recording medium further comprises at least a hardness enhancing layer and a first dielectric layer, such that said hardness enhancing layer, said first dielectric layer and said recording layer are laminated on said substrate in this order;
• wherein said hardness enhancing layer has a hardness higher than that of said first dielectric layer;
• and
• wherein said hardness enhancing layer has a film thickness Th having a value settled correspondingly to a film thickness T1 of said first dielectric layer, such that said film thickness Th and said film thickness T1 have a relationship of 0.4<Th/T1 and said film thickness Th is less than 15 nm.