It is an official document you have received when you acquire the British citizenship. It is also the document you need when you first applied your British Passport.
There are 2 kinds of British citizenship - by descent or otherwise by descent. British citizenship can be only passed to children when it is otherwise by descent. HMPO requires the Registration certificate in order to determine what kind of British citizenship you have.
See here for detail:
https://www.gov.uk/get-replacement-citizenship-certificate