The reflection of the probing microwave occurring in the vicinity of the backscattering Bragg resonance point (far from the cut-off) at a high enough density fluctuation level and leading to a large jump of the reflected wave phase and a corresponding time delay is described analytically using a 1D model. Explicit expressions for the reflection and transmission coefficients are derived and compared against results of numerical modelling. The criteria for transition to the nonlinear regime of strong Bragg backscattering (BBS) is obtained for both O-mode and X-mode reflectometry. It is shown that a strong nonlinear regime of BBS may occur in ITER at the 0.5–2% relative density perturbation level both for the ordinary and extraordinary mode probing. The possibility of probing wave trapping leading to strong enhancement of the electric field and associated high phase variation of the reflected wave due to BBS is demonstrated.