Magnetic domains in the remanent magnetization state of obliquely evaporated recording media Co–CoO films were studied by spin-polarized scanning electron microscopy. Inverse domains densely distributed in the media were found to have a closure-domainlike structure at the surface to reduce the magnetostatic energy. The size of the inverse domains depends on the direction of the external magnetic fields that were applied when the remanent states were formed. Using these results, the relationship between the inverse domains and the carrier-to-noise ratio for this kind of recording media is discussed. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.