Normalization is the process of organizing data in a database to reduce redundancy and improve data integrity. It helps to eliminate data inconsistencies, update anomalies, and data duplication. Normalization involves dividing large tables into smaller, more manageable tables and establishing relationships between them. By doing so, it ensures that data is stored efficiently and accurately, and can be accessed easily. Normalization is a critical step in designing physical databases, as it helps to ensure that the data is organized in the most efficient and effective way possible.