A soft magnetic material used for producing a powder compact has a plurality of iron particles having a Vickers hardness HV of less than 800 and satisfying the relationship of α/β≧2.5, where α represents the specific surface area of the iron particles measured by a gas adsorption method (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method) and β represents the apparent specific surface area of the iron particles calculated from the average particle diameter measured by a laser diffraction/scattering method.