In this paper, the discrete reduced Lorenz system is considered. The dynamical behavior of the system is investigated. The existence and stability of the fixed points of this system are derived. The conditions for existence of a pitchfork bifurcation, flip bifurcation and Neimark-Sacker bifurcation are derived by using the center manifold theorem and bifurcation theory. The complex dynamics, bifurcations and chaos are displayed by numerical simulations. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.