diff --git a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.cpp b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.cpp
index f2d60f1f7..9b305640b 100644
--- a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.cpp
@@ -189,17 +189,7 @@ Vector Rot3::quaternion() const {
 /* ************************************************************************* */
 pair<Unit3, double> Rot3::axisAngle() {
   Vector3 omega = Rot3::Logmap(*this);
-  // Get the rotation angle.
-  double theta = omega.norm();
-
-  // Check if angle `theta` belongs to (-pi, pi].
-  // If yes, rotate in opposite direction to maintain range.
-  // Since omega = theta * u, if all coefficients are negative,
-  // then theta is outside the expected range.
-  if ((omega.array() < 0).all()) {
-    theta = -theta;
-  }
-  return std::pair<Unit3, double>(Unit3(omega), theta);
+  return std::pair<Unit3, double>(Unit3(omega), omega.norm());
 }
 
 /* ************************************************************************* */
diff --git a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h
index b1cfc4926..80d363d35 100644
--- a/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h
+++ b/gtsam/geometry/Rot3.h
@@ -465,6 +465,9 @@ namespace gtsam {
     /**
       * Compute the Euler axis and angle (in radians) representation
       * of this rotation.
+      * The angle is in the range [0, π]. If the angle is not in the range,
+      * the axis is flipped around accordingly so that the returned angle is
+      * within the specified range.
       * @return pair consisting of Unit3 axis and angle in radians
       */
     std::pair<Unit3, double> axisAngle();
diff --git a/gtsam/geometry/tests/testRot3.cpp b/gtsam/geometry/tests/testRot3.cpp
index f7d2609d4..6b0daa368 100644
--- a/gtsam/geometry/tests/testRot3.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/geometry/tests/testRot3.cpp
@@ -691,7 +691,8 @@ TEST(Rot3, axisAngle) {
   /// Test for sign ambiguity
   theta = M_PI + M_PI/2;  // 270 degrees
   Rot3 R2 = Rot3::AxisAngle(Unit3(0.1, 0.3, 0.4), theta);
-  EXPECT_DOUBLES_EQUAL(theta - 2*M_PI, R2.axisAngle().second, 1e-9);
+  EXPECT(assert_equal(Unit3(-0.1, -0.3, -0.4), R2.axisAngle().first, 1e-9));
+  EXPECT_DOUBLES_EQUAL(M_PI/2, R2.axisAngle().second, 1e-9);
 
   theta = -(M_PI + M_PI/2);  // 90 (or -270) degrees
   R2 = Rot3::AxisAngle(Unit3(0.1, 0.3, 0.4), theta);
@@ -700,7 +701,8 @@ TEST(Rot3, axisAngle) {
   /// Non-trivial angles
   theta = 195 * M_PI / 180;  // 195 degrees
   Rot3 R3 = Rot3::AxisAngle(Unit3(0.1, 0.3, 0.4), theta);
-  EXPECT_DOUBLES_EQUAL(theta - 2*M_PI, R3.axisAngle().second, 1e-9);
+  EXPECT(assert_equal(Unit3(-0.1, -0.3, -0.4), R3.axisAngle().first, 1e-9));
+  EXPECT_DOUBLES_EQUAL(165*M_PI/180, R3.axisAngle().second, 1e-9);
 
   theta = -195 * M_PI / 180;  // 165 degrees
   R3 = Rot3::AxisAngle(Unit3(0.1, 0.3, 0.4), theta);