The normal form description for the dynamics of a consecutive nonisothermal reaction in a CSTR near a Hopf bifurcation point has been derived and analyzed. Qualitatively, the normal form is the simplest possible configuration of the system model equations that retains all relevant information regarding the dynamic behavior of the system in the neighborhood of its bifurcation points. In particular, the normal form as derived here reveals the presence of phase shift symmetry and is seen to simplify the identification of degenerate Hopf bifurcation occurring in the system. Numerical results using the actual nonlinear description of the system validates the results obtained via the normal form analysis.